Guth Gafa Documentary Festival 2008

The Mother
Switzerland/France/Russia,
2007, 80 min
Directors: Antoine Cattin, Pavel Kostomarov

Sun 18th • Cinemobile • 2:15pm

On a train that leads to an unknown destination, a Russian mother tells us about her life with her nine children. Liuba escaped from her violent husband, taking all her children to the north of Russia where she raises them along with her daughter Alesia. They both work at a farm and take home another neglected boy, two year old Sacha, the son of a girl working on the same farm. Liuba and Alesia are the type of people who sacrifice themselves in the name of their motherly love. The two women are still hoping to find a good husband, a search that ends up in a struggle to kick out a parasite.
Despite her dedication, this courageous woman notes with regret that her sons are not much different from the loutish men she has known. This is a film about strong women with all their hopes, fragile children with all their innocence, and weak men with all their flaws.