Le combat de ma mère

The New Yorker magazine--we can trust them, can't we?!--reviewed this movie as the true story written by Duncan, who is the screenwriter--you can read the review at the New Yorker site. Anyone who sees it will want to believe that it is true. Regardless, for any Kathy Bates fan,this is a must-see. The dry wit and honesty of the 60's dialogue is simultaneously nostalgic and refreshing. For anyone from a large family in the early 60s, scenes will bring back memories that will delight and disgust--like mixing vats of egg salad in the Miracle Whip jar. Kathy Bates shines as always, but every actor in this holds their own--even the children. Watch it--you'll love it.

This movie was as close to home as it gets. We were not as poor as the Lacey's, but some of our Christmas's were skimpy. I particularly thought the casting was good and the plot line was very believable. When my grandparents first got indoor plumbing, the whole family gathered at their house to celebrate. No more long cold trips during winter! I imagine that most people who watched this movie was critiquing the character development and other mundane points, but anyone who has been lacking the common necessities was looking at this in a far different light. At first I thought more interaction with between Murray and the junkyard owner would have helped, then I realized that this was about Frances and her struggle to provide for her children. Some of the kids characters were never developed but it didn't matter. They were shown to be suffering during the bad times and enjoying the good times. I want to watch it again to see what I missed.

This is a heart wrenching tale about a single mom trying her best to provide for her family. Kathy Bates is outstanding in her portrayal of a hard scrabble mom, down on her luck, who tries to start over and provide a home for her kids. I can't say enough about her performance.

This family goes through some really difficult times, so this isn't necessarily a feel good movie, although there are some inspiring moments. Just when you think things can't get any worse for this family, it does. My heart just broke.

I think this movie does a great job if it causes us to take better notice of those around us who are in need - and do what we can to help them. It becomes difficult, if you run into a women like portrayed here, that is too proud to accept "handouts". But this movie is also inspiring in that it is a great example of the determination of the human spirit and what someone can do in this country if they make up their mind to be somebody and provide a better life for their children.

Kathy Bates(Frances Lacey)also "Misery'90), performed outstanding acting skills as a wonderful mother who just plain loved her children more than herself and was able to warm the hearts of many people she encountered, especially, Soo-Tek-Oho who owned a broken down shack and a few acres of land, which turned out to be a great Mansion for her children Edward Furlong(Shayne Lacey),"Three Blind Mice " Clarissa Lassig(Lynn Lacey) and a few more children. This film will warm your heart and soul and will definitely make you shed a tear or two. We need more picture of this caliber, which is a true story and down to earth and REAL!!

The narrator of this story is supposedly the 13 year old, oldest son of the family the film is about, and he starts out by saying it's all true. Kathy Bates plays Mrs. Lacey, the mother to 5 children, the widow of an Irish Catholic SOB, as she repeatedly refers to him. They're poor, and on a lurch, pack up and leave their dumpy apartment in L.A. for who knows where. They end up in Idaho, working for a Japanese man who's also a widow, making a home out of a shack on his land. You see (feel) the struggles of a parent, a mother, and not only that, but a single parent and mother of 5 children who has practically no money. You see the relationships between siblings and between the children and their mother. You see the resourcefulness and hard work ethic of the mother, sometimes taken too far, to the detriment of her own children (shunning the priest's attempts at helping out with free clothes or food or Christmas presents). You see the struggles of the oldest boy, a 13 year old son, taking on responsibility as the "man of the house," yet also being told to go get his father's belt for whippings from his mother. The mother finds work in a bowling alley, and you see her struggles with dating the bowling pro who works there. Every penny meant so much to them, that when their house is burning down, the oldest daughter risks her life to run inside and find the money jar, and cries on her mother when she has to tell her she couldn't find it. One of the sons discovers a junk yard on the way home on the schoolbus and ends up making many visits, scavenging various items for the house, pulling it all the way home on a make-shift wagon. As someone else already commented, the Christmas morning scene is poignant, as is the ending of the film. The ending was just another beginning, I would think, for this family.