The beautifully tender and deeply moving new film from Léonor Serraille, Mother and Son is a vibrant portrait of a family told from multiple perspectives. After moving to France from the Ivory Coast in the 1980s, young mother Rose (Annabelle Lengronne) must work low-paying jobs to raise Jean and Ernest. Yet Rose seems an indomitable force of nature; her enthusiasm for life in her new country apparently inextinguishable, her trust that she will land on her feet and find love unshakable. Spanning 20 years and structured in chapters,Mother and Son is an impassioned and emotionally rich chronicle of a constantly evolving family.

The Garden Cinema View:

An unconventional immigrant tale following a family’s journey from Ivory Coast to France and spanning two decades. The mother’s decision to move with only two of her sons is left unexplained; likewise the whereabouts of their father. Instead, we witness their resulting dysfunction and underlying trauma is only hinted at. What sets the film apart is its authentic and nuanced depiction of the messiness of immigrant domestic life, and how families can fall apart under pressure. Annabelle Legronne in particular, who plays the mother superbly, resists any immigrant/saint clichés, and is libidinous and messy, without ceasing to be a loving mother. Director Léonor Serraille is known for creating flawed, complex female characters, and this new work is no exception. In the centre of the Mother and Son lies one of the most complex depictions of motherhood we have seen in recent years.

Cast:
Annabelle Lengronne, Stéphane Bak, Kenzo Sambin, Ahmed Sylla