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Alexei Ananishnov, Gudrun Geyer, Aleksei Ananishnov, Gudrin Geyer

With a visually stunning, quiet intensity, director Alexander Sokurov awakens the senses to the world of nature, human relationships, and death in this film about the poignant last hours of a dying mo... read more read more...ther and the son who cares for her. The film begins before the first scene and ends after the last, with the sound of wind in the trees and the songs of birds. Special filters and lenses were used to work with reflecting planes, to manipulate light and shadow as an artist would, and to give added dimension to the full experience of living each moment before death. The mother and son are not named, they live in an isolated, run-down home in the countryside, a vast green landscape of trees and fields. One night they dream the same dream, and the son carries the mother outside, where he reads old postcards to her, and they reminisce about their past...strengthening themselves against the impact of a separation they know is coming soon. Paths -- through the forest, along a railroad track, and that of a sailing boat heading across an infinite body of water -- symbolize the journey the mother has taken and another she will take soon. This combination of the subtle use of images to evoke a greater reality and the astounding use of sound to evoke something unseen but sensed, provides a measure for the depth of the communication and caring between the mother and son. Although Sokurov's evocative, intimate drama begins slowly and so may put off some viewers, it is worth the wait to see how the story is told. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Flixster Users

83% liked it

1,453 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

13 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Aleksandr Sokurov

Release Date: February 4, 1998

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DVD Release Date: December 12, 2000

Stats: 90 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (90)

  • kiriyamakazou
    April 24, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    For what it is, Mother and Son is a fantastic film. Simple and effective, it really does go straight for the emotions. The script is a thoughtful and intelligent piece of writing. This is mainly film as art, enjoy it for the scenery and the poetic visual style. The film also keep... read mores things lean with a short running time. This is essential to it's success as it, very easily, could have outstayed it's welcome.
  • fb100000496792525
    October 30, 2011
    fb100000496792525
    Very beautiful film, slow, meditative and poetic. The cinematography is very inspired and allows to see the spatiotemporal element as an abstraction. The film can be taking place nowhere and everywhere or it can even represent an inner state of emotions. The truth is that there a... read morere a couple of shots which are overlong for no aparent reason (except maybe to over-emphasise the conteplative side of the images) and this pushes the rhythm of the film beyond the limits it can take. As a result you can find many times yourself against an image/shot that has exhausted its meaning (which is minimal anyway and easy to grasp) and then not be able to focus or 'meditate' anymore on it. One can only take a few times the same scene of a fragmented dialogue that ends with the mother sleeping! Nevertheless, its atmopshere, mood and dreamlike sensibility stays with you long after the film has ended.
  • rannahoj
    July 20, 2007
    rannahoj
    It is a laborious task to watch this film, and after everything is said and done, you'll feel like inflicting pain on yourself with sharp instruments...Save yourself the torture of this horrible film.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
April 29, 2010
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This is a dreamlike film that demands to be seen again and again, not because it's so complex but because it's so simple, moving, universal and relevant. Full Review

Maria Garcia
July 13, 2007
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International

Sokurov has thought deeply about his subject, but he does not dwell in the emotional and spiritual lives of this mother and son. Full Review

Anton Bitel
July 11, 2007
Anton Bitel, Film4

as richly textured, and at times also as static, as a master's painting. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 2, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

One of the greatest films I've ever seen. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
April 5, 2006
Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine

A film to die to. Full Review

Gabe Leibowitz
November 4, 2003
Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt

Far superior to the pretentious Russian Ark, Aleksandr Sokurov's Mother and Son is full of suffering and painful adulation... Full Review

Scott Tobias
August 6, 2002
Scott Tobias, AV Club

The haunting, unforgettable images in Mother And Son leave no doubt as to why [Sokurov] is considered one of the world's premier film artists.

Jeremy Heilman
May 10, 2002
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

Distilled almost to the point of nothingness. Full Review

Deborah Young
March 26, 2009
Deborah Young, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Click to read the article Full Review

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Mother and Son Trivia

  • In which movie does a former Mayor, an engaged couple, a single mother and her son, a gay architect, and a professional gambler survive a terrifying catastrophe on the water?  Answer »
  • Jason Schwartzman and Talia Shire appear in I Heart Huckabees as mother and son. What's their relationship in real life?  Answer »
  • I was a dog walker, a hit mans son, the son of a sick mother and I had a 'series of unfortunate events' that followed me... Who am I?  Answer »
  • in which movie is a boy deserted by his mother to go to Las Vegas and leaves her son with his 2 uncles?  Answer »
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