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      Mother and Son

      1997 1h 15m Drama List
      79% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 84% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings In a small house in the countryside of Russia, a son (Alexei Ananischnov) cares for his sick, elderly mother (Gudrun Geyer) as they prepare for her death. As the mother struggles to breathe and her health gradually deteriorates, her son holds her, feeds her and does his best to comfort her. When the son finally brings the mother to her death bed, the two embark on a journey through a hallucinatory outdoor landscape where they spend their final moments together. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Rob Humanick Slant Magazine Sokurov's somnambulistic use of the camera frequently suggests a master painter pausing for minutes, if not hours or days, between each devastating brushstroke. Rated: 4/4 Nov 12, 2012 Full Review Keith Uhlich Slant Magazine A film to die to. Rated: 4/4 Apr 5, 2006 Full Review 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. Aug 6, 2002 Full Review Jae-Ha Kim Jae-Ha Kim By the end of "Mother and Son," I felt as lethargic as the half-dead mother in the title. Laboriously slow, the 73-minute movie drags on at a snail's pace, depicting the almost Oedipal relationship between a dying mother and her caretaker son. Rated: 1/4 Jul 28, 2023 Full Review 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. Jul 13, 2007 Full Review Anton Bitel Film4 as richly textured, and at times also as static, as a master's painting. Jul 11, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      S R 1001 movies to see before you die. I don't think this should be on the list. I don't plan to see it again. It did have beautiful landscapes filmed, but the rest of was a struggle. RUS. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/29/23 Full Review William L This is one of those "every frame a painting" films, isn't it? In this case, that often-used phrase is very much applicable, not only because particular care was taken with the cinematography, but because the visuals are composed with a style intended to directly emulate the artistry of painting; Sokurov relies very little on dialogue (because between a mother and son with so many years spent together, little often needs to be said), and instead creates landscapes intended to represent intimacy and the emotional turbulence created by two individuals that share a close bond coming to an inevitable and unwilling parting. A film where few words are needed but considerable emotional depth is explored, Mother and Son feels weighty as you watch it, a discussion of love that explicitly sidesteps romantic attraction without sacrificing any of the sincerity. Well-composed and heartfelt. (4/5) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/02/21 Full Review Audience Member If you like Sokurov films you're probably into meditative and poetically artistic films. If you're not into that genre this film of barely more than an hour will stretch your attention span and patience to the limit. Some beautiful Russian, roiling countryside is the only element I enjoyed. I will never watch this again. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member gr8 look at death and dying Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Incredibly slow, it must be the slowest film I have ever seen. It could easily have been a 5-7 minutes short, but after all - it all felt necessary. A son carries his dying mother around the untouched, Russian nature and we can feel their connection. The German painter Caspar David Friedrichs works are the inspiration for the very beautiful pictures Sokurov serve us.Poetic and sometimes stretched images, often in sepia-colors. Relaxing film, with an natural ambient score. It may not be considured entertainment, but it's certainly film art. Beautiful, human, sad, natural and very boring film where Sokurov is painting us pictures with a camera lense. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review razvan p nice visual, and thats it Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Mother and Son

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis In a small house in the countryside of Russia, a son (Alexei Ananischnov) cares for his sick, elderly mother (Gudrun Geyer) as they prepare for her death. As the mother struggles to breathe and her health gradually deteriorates, her son holds her, feeds her and does his best to comfort her. When the son finally brings the mother to her death bed, the two embark on a journey through a hallucinatory outdoor landscape where they spend their final moments together.
      Director
      Aleksandr Sokurov
      Producer
      Aleksandr Golutva, Martin Hagemann, Katrin Schlösser
      Screenwriter
      Yuriy Arabov
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Russian
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jun 11, 2007
      Runtime
      1h 15m