O Filho de Sofia

Son of Sofia will trigger painful memories in all of us who suffered from an abusive or violent father.

In Russia, Mischa's father has died, so he must travel to Greece to live with his mother Sofia, who hasn't told him she remarried to a much older and oppressively controlling, old fashioned man, Mr. Nikos. Ten-year-old Mischa responds badly to the situation, but I can't blame him for that.

All of the characters are acted in a manner so low key that they become very realistic. Thanasis Papageorgiou's portrayal of Mr. Nikos is superb. He's always domineering but rarely yells, limiting actual violence to one scene of relatively mild corporal punishment. But danger is always imminent, threatened by the coercive grasp of his hand behind the boy's neck or around his arm. Mercifully, the director spares us a more explicit reality. At first, Sofia and Mischa mostly keep their mouths shut, just trying to survive, and yet her fear and his rage are palpable.

I wager it would not actually have killed the director to give us five more minutes for closure at the end of the movie. But it's still a fine film. If it won't disturb you too greatly, it's worth seeing.

Son of Sofia is quite an unusual movie taking place at the intersection of two unique cultures. The protagonist is a young Russian boy Misha, who comes to Athens to live with his mother and her employer. Soon he discovers that the old man is something more than just a boss to his mother. The boy is forced to deal with the demanding man while learning to exist in a foreign environment at the same time.

The movie is a perfect example of the slice of life genre. Rather than show a few huge events in the lives of the characters, it follows their daily lives as each of them tries their best to deal with this new situation they found themselves in. The dialogue is minimal, and the emotions of the characters are conveyed by their actions rather than words. The pacing is slow, giving the viewer time to fully consider the events.

The acting is really good and every person in the cast managed to create a believable complex character. Thanasis Papageorgiou' Mr. Nikos is demanding, controlling, and sure that the Greek culture is much better than the Russian. Valery Tscheplanowa's Sofia is willing to do anything she has to in order to give her son the best possible life. Victor Khomut's Misha is quite lost in this new situation, and his performance was the biggest surprise for me, as I don't usually like movies with child protagonists.

As a whole the movie is quite peculiar, but I found it quite refreshing to watch something this unusual. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting picture of everyday life in an untraditional family.