Could you ever part with your child due to war? How would you maintain a sense of hope? Klaus Haro's film, Mother Of Mine, depicts an honest and heart wrenching portrayal of the separation of families in Finland during WWII when over 70,000 children were evacuated to neighboring neutral Sweden. For one family, young Eero, played by Topi Majaniemi, is separated from his mother Kirsti, played by Marjaana Maijala, soon after the death of his father and placed with a rural family in Sweden. The host couple, Signe and Hjalmar, played by Maria Lundqvist and Michael Nyqvist, is unprepared for Eero as Signe was secretly hoping to host a young girl, as their daughter drowned only two years before. As Eero misses his mother in Finland, he bonds quickly with Hjalmar much to the immediate dismay of Signe. However, when Eero's mother's situation in Finland suddenly changes, Signe is asked to raise Eero as her own son, prompting a heart rendering attachment that is too good to last.
One of the key themes throughout the film is the fluidity and construction of family. Initially, the audience witness Eero's family as three: father, mother, and son. Quickly after the war enters Finland however, Eero's father leaves to join the military and dies in combat. Eero's mother, Kirsti, heartbroken and distraught, then has to abandon her only son and stay alone in Finland. Within the first 20 minutes of the film viewers watch Eero's family shatter into fragmented pieces. When Eero arrives in Sweden he is given a "host mother and father" who act as replacements for the parents he left back home. Eero bonds more quickly with Hjalmar as his father has passed and Hjalmar effectively takes on that fatherly role. Signe, however, remains distant as she mourns the loss of her child and in effect, so does Eero as he still has a mother back in Finland. Over time, Eero loses contact with his birth mother and begins to let Signe into his life and she ultimately does the same. Soon, Eero interacts with Hjalmar and Signe as his parents and they treat him as their son. Family roles become fluid for both parties and the construction of family changes for each party as they need it to.
Another unique theme to this film in particular is the dynamic role of language and with it, communication. Mother Of Mine is an example of a film co-production as both Finnish and Swedish languages are utilized. While this draws in a wider Nordic audience, it creates an initial barrier between the characters, as they cannot communicate with each other very effectively. Hjalmar is open to learning Finnish and attempts to memorize Finnish words in the government language book provided, but Signe insists that since Eero is in Finland, he must speak Finnish. By forcing Eero to learn Finnish, Signe puts up a language barrier between the two of them so that she does not have to communicate with Eero as she still mourns the loss of her daughter. When she is ready to accept Eero into her life as her own child, the language barrier between them is broken and she helps instead of criticizing him in his language skills.
A final theme centers on the loss of loved ones, most importantly family members. As stated previously, Eero lost his father in the war and Signe and Hjalmar's daughter drowned. Both parties are hesitant to let someone new into those previously lost family roles, but as their relationships develop all three experience what it means to love again. For Eero and Signe, this mother-son relationship becomes a permanent attachment despite some 60 years apart. Later in life Eero tells his birth mother, Kirsti, that she stopped being his mother as soon as he returned to Finland as Signe had taken over that role. It is only upon reflection many years later at Signe's funeral that Eero realizes his love for both his mothers, despite his loss of each one of them at one point.
Haro has created a masterpiece with Mother Of Mine and viewers will not be disappointed. Not only is the cinematography stunning, but the soft musical tones and panoramic silences transport audiences back in time. Maria Lundqvist gives an incredible performance as Signe and I hope to see young Topi Majaniemi's face in many future Finnish films. Audiences worldwide will experience true emotion with this film and find connections with it that will tug at one's heartstrings. American cinema has a thing or two to learn from this work of art and I look forward to watching more Haro films in the future.
One of the key themes throughout the film is the fluidity and construction of family. Initially, the audience witness Eero's family as three: father, mother, and son. Quickly after the war enters Finland however, Eero's father leaves to join the military and dies in combat. Eero's mother, Kirsti, heartbroken and distraught, then has to abandon her only son and stay alone in Finland. Within the first 20 minutes of the film viewers watch Eero's family shatter into fragmented pieces. When Eero arrives in Sweden he is given a "host mother and father" who act as replacements for the parents he left back home. Eero bonds more quickly with Hjalmar as his father has passed and Hjalmar effectively takes on that fatherly role. Signe, however, remains distant as she mourns the loss of her child and in effect, so does Eero as he still has a mother back in Finland. Over time, Eero loses contact with his birth mother and begins to let Signe into his life and she ultimately does the same. Soon, Eero interacts with Hjalmar and Signe as his parents and they treat him as their son. Family roles become fluid for both parties and the construction of family changes for each party as they need it to.
Another unique theme to this film in particular is the dynamic role of language and with it, communication. Mother Of Mine is an example of a film co-production as both Finnish and Swedish languages are utilized. While this draws in a wider Nordic audience, it creates an initial barrier between the characters, as they cannot communicate with each other very effectively. Hjalmar is open to learning Finnish and attempts to memorize Finnish words in the government language book provided, but Signe insists that since Eero is in Finland, he must speak Finnish. By forcing Eero to learn Finnish, Signe puts up a language barrier between the two of them so that she does not have to communicate with Eero as she still mourns the loss of her daughter. When she is ready to accept Eero into her life as her own child, the language barrier between them is broken and she helps instead of criticizing him in his language skills.
A final theme centers on the loss of loved ones, most importantly family members. As stated previously, Eero lost his father in the war and Signe and Hjalmar's daughter drowned. Both parties are hesitant to let someone new into those previously lost family roles, but as their relationships develop all three experience what it means to love again. For Eero and Signe, this mother-son relationship becomes a permanent attachment despite some 60 years apart. Later in life Eero tells his birth mother, Kirsti, that she stopped being his mother as soon as he returned to Finland as Signe had taken over that role. It is only upon reflection many years later at Signe's funeral that Eero realizes his love for both his mothers, despite his loss of each one of them at one point.
Haro has created a masterpiece with Mother Of Mine and viewers will not be disappointed. Not only is the cinematography stunning, but the soft musical tones and panoramic silences transport audiences back in time. Maria Lundqvist gives an incredible performance as Signe and I hope to see young Topi Majaniemi's face in many future Finnish films. Audiences worldwide will experience true emotion with this film and find connections with it that will tug at one's heartstrings. American cinema has a thing or two to learn from this work of art and I look forward to watching more Haro films in the future.