Mother
A poignant and unconventional character study of the young Mother Teresa (played by Noomi Rapace) before she became world-famous. The film follows seven decisive days in her life in 1948.
We know Nobel Prize winner Mother Teresa as the (canonised) woman who renounced all her material possessions to care for the inhabitants of the slums of Calcutta. In Mother, however, Teresa is not yet the Catholic icon we all know, but an ambitious young nun who has renounced all worldly pleasures and dreams of founding her own order. The decision on this, however, is taken by the men at the Vatican. ‘I’m part of a system run by men,’ we hear Teresa grumble. At the same time, she is torn by doubts about her mission.
Like Mother Teresa, director Teona Strugar Mitevska was born in Skopje, the capital of what is now North Macedonia. With Mother, she has created an unconventional biopic; rather than placing Teresa on a pedestal, she offers a nuanced portrait of a determined, rebellious and defiant woman grappling with her ideals. The fact that this is no traditional biopic is also evident from the soundtrack, which features, amongst other things, thumping techno and a recent Eurovision Song Contest winner.
Written by M.V.