Mammu, es Tevi milu (2013) Reviews

• Mother, I Love You

  JayCee002013-07-26

  OK I admit it. When I went to LAFF I originally intended on seeing another film that I had my eye on. But upon hearing it was sold out I shrugged and figured I would just see whatever film was screening next automatically figuring it was going to bore me into a deep slumber. Let me say……I was completely wrong. The film was Mother, I Love You (Mammu, Es Tevi Milu). A rare film out of Latvia that is a true gem of storytelling that is truly heart-felt. A realistic coming-of-age story of a 12-year-old boy who already has a strained relationship with his mother, gets into some serious trouble involving petty theft and how, from his young perspective, he should go about solving the problem. For all accounts, Raimond (Kristofers Konovalovs) is a typical young boy who plays sax in the school band, stays up late to play Wii, and roams around town on his Razor scooter getting into mischief with his best friend Peteris. Part of the film deals with the difficult relationship between Raimonds and his single mother (Vita Varpina) who works late as an obstetrician to support them. While it's obvious they both love each other, their relationship is more like roommates than mother and son. When Raimonds finds himself intertwined in a theft investigation you notice the extent of his desperation to get out of the difficult situation through his resourcefulness. Even though all the decisions he makes are the wrong ones, they make complete sense in the mind of a 12 year old trying to avoid punishment from his mother. Frankly it makes the viewer look within their own (or other's close to them) past actions from that age and go "hey I did same thing to get out of being slapped by my parents". But as we all come to find out, and so does Raimonds, its best to come clean and tell the truth in the end. And no matter what hot water Raimonds in, his mother will always love her son.

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