A cheap asking price and the subject matter drew me to this film. Not just a WWII piece but one set on the channel islands during the German occupation. Until recently this subject matter has been thin on the ground, filmically (Although The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is currently in cinemas). With an interestingly eclectic cast, I thought it was worth a watch. That said, I was also slightly wary of a possible tweeness and the fact that Bill Kenwright Productions are far better known on the theatre scene as opposed to the cinema screen. Those fears were, initially, justified- to start with the scripted dialogue was somewhat stilted and dealt in clichés but crucially, just as my attention started to wane, it slowly but surely began to win me over. This was due in no small part down to the fact this was based on a true story, a story of humanity and heart and one which, I am sure, Christopher Menaul and his cast felt a responsibility for bringing to the screen in as truthful a manner as possible. The central story concerns Jenny Seagrove's character agreeing to take in an escaped Russian P.O.W, because, as a mother of two grown sons away fighting (one of whom was killed in action) she feels a responsibilty to "Another Mother's Son." Seagrove sets the tone of the film in a stoic and quietly impressive performance, matched by Julian Kostov as the young Russian (a star in the making) and their chemistry in a surrogate mother and son relationship works well. They are surrounded by a cast of, mostly, British character players including John Hannah, Amanda Abbington, Nicholas Farrell, Peter Wight, Susan Hampshire, Joanna David, Gwen Taylor and...Ronan Keating! Yes, he of Boyzone fame. And yes, he does sing in this film but it is crucial to a plot point in the film and is a lovely edgy moment where we fear for our heroes. Keating, in fact, acquits himself well throughout, and this could be the start of a fine second career for him. Speaking of edgy moments, there is another wonderfully nerve jangling moment when Seagrove and Kostov are followed by a German officer when leaving a bookshop. In short, then there is action and suspense without overt 'pyrotechnics' and poignancy without overwroughtness. A fascinating true story that is really worth spending an hour and a half of your time on.
24 Reviews
Great!
stfaustina24 July 2020
good film
watcher201916 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This is a reminder how close the nazis came to invading britain. An interesting watch regarding a very brave family who risked their own lives to save a Russian prisoner of war. I visited Jersey a few years ago and the still have some of the old weaponary and the gun placements from the germans still standing. On a tour of the island we were told churchill would not send any relief to jersey after teh end of the war. Whether he thought them weak because of the invasion he would not send food . There was nothing left on the island. No cats, dogs or birds. All had been eaten. It was acutally the Kiwi's who saved them by sending a ship laden with supplies, not the British. Scandalous!
Workable-enough wartime thriller which deserved to be better
johnnyboyz28 March 2022
Hansard informs me that, at 3:40pm on 8 June 1940, after William Edward Woolley, esquire, for the County of York (West Riding) had been sworn in, and after the Monmouthshire and South Wales Employers' Mutual Indemnity Society Limited bill had had its first reading, Winston Churchill rose in Parliament to speak under the jurisprudence of 'War Situation'. His statement, lasting 34 minutes, concludes with the famous quotation that... 'We shall fight on the beaches...on the landing grounds...in the fields and in the streets...in the hills. We shall never surrender.' They were stirring, if not chilling, words for the fact they dared to address what might, or ought, happen in the occasion that there should actually be some form of German military presence in the country. The advice was clear: keep fighting; fight in streets, fields and wherever you find them - keep fighting. Drag it out to its last breath.
In the event, mainland Britain was never actually invaded by the Nazi war machine. A small part of it, however, in the form of the Channel Islands, was. But what happened? Not very much in the form of resistance, in actual fact. Begrudging acceptance, you might say, is as bad as it gets in "Another Mother's Son" - the sabotaging of treacherous communique in a local post office about as guerrilla as it comes.
Admittedly, and perhaps to my shame, I couldn't tell you very much about this particular chapter in the United Kingdom's history: the arrival of the Nazis, via France, on the various islands which make up the Channel Islands in 1940 and their consequent occupation. Having seen the film, I am none-especially wiser as to the raw essence of the history behind such an occupation, but the film does well to steer you towards understanding what life MAY have been like. The project, based on a true story, is in essence competently made. It did not bring me to tears in the way it thought it was going to, but I am happy that I found it and learnt about the people and deeds therein. The nicest I can be is that "Another Mother's Son" is functional if not televisual, but that it pales in comparison to many others of its stock such as "Soldier of Orange" or "The Pianist". It also stars Ronan Keating, who not only gets to act but seems to have written especially for him a sequence whereby he is afforded the opportunity to sing.
It is the spring of 1942 and, with the War broadly speaking still confined to Europe and Africa, and, I don't suppose, going especially well for Britain, we are on Jersey, which the Germans occupy. Their arrival has seen them cull the population of Englishmen - not through any especially nasty means, but through deportation: the strict observance of the rule that anybody not born on the island is sent to Germany as a prisoner of war. There are, however, a few curious exemptions: anybody in a management position, for example, is spared the fate. Two sisters in their fifties by the names of Louisa (Jenny Seagrove) and Ivy (Amanda Abbington) run a small convenience store, selling mostly food. Harry (Keating), is their brother. Louisa, the eldest, has already lost her son to the conflict; life under rationing is tough.
The Germans seem to reserve their real hatred for the Russians, with whom they have only just gone to war, scorching in the process their 1939 non-aggression pact. As one set of prisoners of war go out, another lot come in: Soviets captured on the Eastern front are shipped in to work, essentially as slaves, in a local quarry. The plot thickens when one of them, Bulgarian actor Julian Kostov's young Red Army pilot Fyodor, escapes and eventually ambles into Louisa's somewhat diametrically opposed universe - refusing to turn him in, of course, she decides to house him and hide him in spite of the danger, in the process essentially allowing him to become the eponymous son wherein, since she had no control over her blood relation's death in the conflict, might be able to save the life of another young man here.
Appreciating the film comes a lot easier than loving it; it has, to its credit, a certain vibe about it which calls to mind one of the better wartime stories of opposites stuck in the confines of a remote cottage, in "Goodnight, Mr. Tom": a made for television piece which worked more consistently within those parameters. Jersey, having seemingly escaped the might of the German war machine in ways France; Poland and the Netherlands did not, is a curious setting for what is in essence a resistance thriller, as well as a war film, and yet at once plays out as neither of these things. Fyodor is stuck inside, hiding. If he is found, he is likely shot, as too will be Louisa. It is a simple enough premise, but it remains curiously grounded throughout its runtime as characters go through the motions around it. The Germans, seemingly ignorant that one of their prisoners has even escaped, refrain from launching an all-out manhunt on the tiny Bailiwick and are never suspicious that one of the hate-filled natives of the island might pluck up the courage to conspire against them.
I read after the film that the director, a certain Christopher Menaul, is indeed more synonymous with directing material for television broadcast, and it shows here; the aesthetic is very much one of point-and-shoot and the film lacks a cinematic quality, with too many edits for what is ultimately an extraordinarily pared down story about people stuck in houses or shops or post-offices looking exasperated under exasperated circumstances. He brings to life a tale of courage, or perhaps two tales of courage, admirably but it's played very safe and there is ultimately too much bite lacking for it to be brilliant.
In the event, mainland Britain was never actually invaded by the Nazi war machine. A small part of it, however, in the form of the Channel Islands, was. But what happened? Not very much in the form of resistance, in actual fact. Begrudging acceptance, you might say, is as bad as it gets in "Another Mother's Son" - the sabotaging of treacherous communique in a local post office about as guerrilla as it comes.
Admittedly, and perhaps to my shame, I couldn't tell you very much about this particular chapter in the United Kingdom's history: the arrival of the Nazis, via France, on the various islands which make up the Channel Islands in 1940 and their consequent occupation. Having seen the film, I am none-especially wiser as to the raw essence of the history behind such an occupation, but the film does well to steer you towards understanding what life MAY have been like. The project, based on a true story, is in essence competently made. It did not bring me to tears in the way it thought it was going to, but I am happy that I found it and learnt about the people and deeds therein. The nicest I can be is that "Another Mother's Son" is functional if not televisual, but that it pales in comparison to many others of its stock such as "Soldier of Orange" or "The Pianist". It also stars Ronan Keating, who not only gets to act but seems to have written especially for him a sequence whereby he is afforded the opportunity to sing.
It is the spring of 1942 and, with the War broadly speaking still confined to Europe and Africa, and, I don't suppose, going especially well for Britain, we are on Jersey, which the Germans occupy. Their arrival has seen them cull the population of Englishmen - not through any especially nasty means, but through deportation: the strict observance of the rule that anybody not born on the island is sent to Germany as a prisoner of war. There are, however, a few curious exemptions: anybody in a management position, for example, is spared the fate. Two sisters in their fifties by the names of Louisa (Jenny Seagrove) and Ivy (Amanda Abbington) run a small convenience store, selling mostly food. Harry (Keating), is their brother. Louisa, the eldest, has already lost her son to the conflict; life under rationing is tough.
The Germans seem to reserve their real hatred for the Russians, with whom they have only just gone to war, scorching in the process their 1939 non-aggression pact. As one set of prisoners of war go out, another lot come in: Soviets captured on the Eastern front are shipped in to work, essentially as slaves, in a local quarry. The plot thickens when one of them, Bulgarian actor Julian Kostov's young Red Army pilot Fyodor, escapes and eventually ambles into Louisa's somewhat diametrically opposed universe - refusing to turn him in, of course, she decides to house him and hide him in spite of the danger, in the process essentially allowing him to become the eponymous son wherein, since she had no control over her blood relation's death in the conflict, might be able to save the life of another young man here.
Appreciating the film comes a lot easier than loving it; it has, to its credit, a certain vibe about it which calls to mind one of the better wartime stories of opposites stuck in the confines of a remote cottage, in "Goodnight, Mr. Tom": a made for television piece which worked more consistently within those parameters. Jersey, having seemingly escaped the might of the German war machine in ways France; Poland and the Netherlands did not, is a curious setting for what is in essence a resistance thriller, as well as a war film, and yet at once plays out as neither of these things. Fyodor is stuck inside, hiding. If he is found, he is likely shot, as too will be Louisa. It is a simple enough premise, but it remains curiously grounded throughout its runtime as characters go through the motions around it. The Germans, seemingly ignorant that one of their prisoners has even escaped, refrain from launching an all-out manhunt on the tiny Bailiwick and are never suspicious that one of the hate-filled natives of the island might pluck up the courage to conspire against them.
I read after the film that the director, a certain Christopher Menaul, is indeed more synonymous with directing material for television broadcast, and it shows here; the aesthetic is very much one of point-and-shoot and the film lacks a cinematic quality, with too many edits for what is ultimately an extraordinarily pared down story about people stuck in houses or shops or post-offices looking exasperated under exasperated circumstances. He brings to life a tale of courage, or perhaps two tales of courage, admirably but it's played very safe and there is ultimately too much bite lacking for it to be brilliant.
Good if you ignore the impossibility of the plot
scocope-654-7711653 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The acting was good.
The sets were well staged for the most part but give me a break on the storyline.
At the point when the escaped Russian POW started working in the grocery is when I knew the writer did not care or bother to even attempt to make it a realistic or even believable.
Then he shows up at a public band concert arm-in-arm with his co-star held by the German occupiers that I knew the writer did not care if our intelligence was insulted.
Ignore the complete impossibility of a escaped prisoner working in a public shop and attending German band concerts with his the woman who is hiding him and you might enjoy it.
It is not the actors' fault the writer wrote this nonsense. It certainly was not the actors playing the Germans for their one-dimensional acting given the writing.
If the acting was not as well done with what they were given, I'd give it 2 stars at most.
The only thing that would make this work would be a vampire or two. Then no one cares about impossible plot lines.
Sensitive and Moving Tribute to a Courageous Woman
LeonardKniffel16 June 2020
The dismissive user reviews of this film on IMDB are mystifying. I have never seen a better film about the horrors of the Nazi regime. Outstanding performances and beautiful cinematography are among the many fine aspects of this powerful film biography. Jenny Seagrove's passionate performance creates a courageous woman at the center of an ordinary family that defies the evil of the Nazi occupation of Jersey during World War II. If you are a hadrcore cynic and a big fan of revenge fantasy, however, you will not like this film. Otherwise, read the critic reviews and ignore the nonsense in the negative user reviews.
Restoring faith
burgessian116 April 2017
This film restores one's faith in people. It's about some residents of Jersey during the German occupation in World War II. We see the film through the eyes of a local shopkeeper. She bravely takes in Russian prisoner of war who manages to escape from forced labour in a quarry. Times are tough with rationing. Slowly but surely she forms a relationship with the POW, teaches him how to read English and he becomes like a son to her. The story is sensitively told with excellent acting from the principals. Although I note that the actor playing the part of 'Brian' is not mentioned the cast list. Without giving anything away the tensions mount as time passes with an inevitable conclusion. This film portrays the bravery and selflessness of ordinary people in helping others and opposing occupiers. A deep film and a well worthwhile film to see. When I saw it at the Clevedon Curzon members of the audience clapped at the end of the film.
Interesting tale of a little-known WWII event
Nat-2116 March 2023
The plight of the Channel Islands during World War II is a relatively obscure footnote of World War II. As the only example of German occupation of British territory, it is certainly worthy of movie treatment. Though no large-scale battles took place there, citizens of the crown lived under German rule for years. This movie is based on a true story about a Jersey shopkeeper shielding a Russian prisoner of war who escaped from a brutal work camp on the island. The woman's two sons are fighting the Germans, as was this young man, who finds relative safety in the woman's house after enduring torture by his captors. The tension comes as she attempts to keep him hidden from the authorities, sometimes in plain sight. Relatives and neighbors are in the mix, some offering help, others warning of the consequences if they are caught. Collaborators and prying German soldiers provide some tension. This is not a bad movie, but it could have been much better. Instead, it suffers from a tepid script and uninspired direction. It is also weakened by implausible segments, such as how quickly the Russian learns English and the reckless actions of his protector, who often places him in danger by parading him throughout the countryside and in town. The acting is good, and the cinematography successfully places us in the quaint environment of a British populace with strong French influences. But the movie lacks a true climax, and what serves as one seems to be little more than an afterthought. That's too bad.
POWERFUL DRAMA
grahamvr9 August 2019
As the end credits say, a dramatisation based on true events. A truly powerful and amazing story of a woman who gave everything to save another woman's son. How other reviewers here can say it is boring, wooden performances etc, etc is beyond me. The actors portrayed exactly what people were like back then. I had many relatives who went through WWII, some died and some survived the atrocities. I congratulate all involved in this production and for getting it made on such a low budget. It is one of the best WWII dramas I have ever seen. Excellent dialogue and the pace was just right. For those of you who didn't like it all I can say is I hope you never have to live through such atrocities as those people did. When we have a nuclear war, which is eminent, you will truly see the truth.
The worst thing about this "based on a true" story is how false it is.
generic230-115 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The writer mashed two or three people into a number of the characters and this made the story seem outrageous. The real "Russian Bill" never left the house he was hiding in, which was Louisa Gould's house, not Rene Le. Mottee. He ran to Le Mottee's farm house but grocer Louisa Gould took him in. He never went walking in the open or attended movies. That was a completely different Russian escapee staying at a different house. THAT Russian was an idiot and went out often because he hated being cooped up. HE attended public functions.
The letter that alerted German's to Louisa Gould's wireless was not stopped at the post office. It had the wrong address: "Victoria College" instead of "Victoria College House." The Vice principal at the college read it, resealed it, and sent it on. He then alerted Louisa Gould, and they rushed to hide evidence that Bill was there. Unfortunately, they weren't thorough enough.
The true story is compelling but this insane piece of work portrays the heroes in the story as being careless and stupid. So it's impossible to have empathy for any of them.
The letter that alerted German's to Louisa Gould's wireless was not stopped at the post office. It had the wrong address: "Victoria College" instead of "Victoria College House." The Vice principal at the college read it, resealed it, and sent it on. He then alerted Louisa Gould, and they rushed to hide evidence that Bill was there. Unfortunately, they weren't thorough enough.
The true story is compelling but this insane piece of work portrays the heroes in the story as being careless and stupid. So it's impossible to have empathy for any of them.
This one had me crying
alyssarufo6 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Lovely movie and great story. The fact that this was a true story is incredible and gut wrenching. I literally cried my heart out at the end. I expected at the beginning a happy ending but ended up guessing correctly towards the end unfortunately.
It hit me the most when the POW felt bad for getting everyone in the mess. Then I thought about it with empathy and came up with these thoughts. DEPRESSING AND SPOILER ALERT!!!
The POW most likely felt extremely guilty because they were saving his life from the camps. While In doing that they got caught and were sent to the camps instead of him. It's also super sad once u think about it all. Which is why I cried so hard. The facts hit me I think when he sad the camps will break her. Like she literally laid down her life to save him from the type camps she died in. There was more on my mind I was going to say but I can't put it into words. Once you watch it you will understand and if u have a lot of empathy for these individuals u will probably cry as hard as I did.
I really appreciate the authenticity of these types of films and the effort that these types of horrors should never happen again. And I applaud the good brave people in the world that did their best with small to big deeds that helped those individuals survive those horror as best as possible.
Lovely movie and great story. The fact that this was a true story is incredible and gut wrenching. I literally cried my heart out at the end. I expected at the beginning a happy ending but ended up guessing correctly towards the end unfortunately.
It hit me the most when the POW felt bad for getting everyone in the mess. Then I thought about it with empathy and came up with these thoughts. DEPRESSING AND SPOILER ALERT!!!
The POW most likely felt extremely guilty because they were saving his life from the camps. While In doing that they got caught and were sent to the camps instead of him. It's also super sad once u think about it all. Which is why I cried so hard. The facts hit me I think when he sad the camps will break her. Like she literally laid down her life to save him from the type camps she died in. There was more on my mind I was going to say but I can't put it into words. Once you watch it you will understand and if u have a lot of empathy for these individuals u will probably cry as hard as I did.
I really appreciate the authenticity of these types of films and the effort that these types of horrors should never happen again. And I applaud the good brave people in the world that did their best with small to big deeds that helped those individuals survive those horror as best as possible.
More than what it seems
Prof_Monty27 June 2020
This movie is a touching recount of heroism in the face of Nazi occupation. The bravery of some of the Islanders is on full display as well at the cowardess and fear. This story is one of many, but was very well written and acted. This is proof that it is the deeds we are remembered for and not just our words.
A serious tale, poorly realised.
jimappleby12 January 2018
Hundreds of pows, enslaved Russians and Spanish workers held behind tall,barbed wire fences, starved and beaten by the Todt organisation, not 20 well fed men carrying the odd rock. Jersey, a ubiquitous landscape with granite farmhouses with walls edging every field. Home to a mostly rural population, having to farm twice as hard because the Germans took food for themselves. Locals who spoke in their own Jerriais dialect of Norman French to irritate the occupiers and spoke with a distinctive accent when speaking English.
Appallingly no attempt whatsoever, to represent the uniqueness of an increasingly forgotten language and way of life and the associated culture that was the backdrop to this story, nor any attempt at realistic dialogue. The direction is so stilted, that I only struggled through this because I wanted to see how these events, which I was already aware of, were depicted.
A missed oppurtunity.
A Film Portrayal Of Heroic Sheer Brilliance!
silicontourist29 October 2021
I had already heard of this brave lady when I lived in Jersey 40 years ago...I hated the place but that's another story altogether! There were a number of traitors among the (Jersey Beans as they are called by some) island residents during WWII; and they got their comeuppance as soon as the Germans were gone! I have seen the places where the Russian POW's were forced to work in terrible conditions, with hardly any food. One of them is Jersey's WWII museum. People today will never ever know and realize the hardships that some people had to endure (one of the main reasons why some English people have little respect for anything but themselves...although that is also a planet wide problem these days!).
This film portrayed the times very well (though all the German soldiers stationed there were not bad people) and the acting by everyone was very good! Sound, lighting, camerawork etc were all top notch and I enjoyed watching this film again...so will you unless you are like one of the negative reviewers.
This film portrayed the times very well (though all the German soldiers stationed there were not bad people) and the acting by everyone was very good! Sound, lighting, camerawork etc were all top notch and I enjoyed watching this film again...so will you unless you are like one of the negative reviewers.
Interesting story done poorly
michaelmurphym20 May 2018
Where is God when your son died?
nogodnomasters21 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Based on a true story (I'm a sucker for docudramas) about the German occupation of the British isle of Jersey during WWII. If you are like me you never heard of Jersey or its occupation let alone this tale. Oh, I did hear about WWII, my dad would make up all kind of stories...all false. The film centers on Louisa Gould (Jenny Seagrove). She has two sons serving in the war. She gets a telegram on one. Russians are brought to the island and used as forced labor in a stone quarry. Louisa harbors an escaped Russian at the risk of her life. He becomes her son substitute as they get attached.
Film is a good drama. Not a lot of action. The island people had expectations that the British would show up at any moment to liberate them. Such was not the case. The war challenges her faith.
Film is a good drama. Not a lot of action. The island people had expectations that the British would show up at any moment to liberate them. Such was not the case. The war challenges her faith.
Another great war story!
dizzydog-780076 February 2021
Painful
bristolsatire19 December 2017
Solid WWII dramas come in all shapes and sizes - this one sadly tries to fit the big screen but from a script that is worthy of only the small screen.
The dialogue is risibly melodramatic as is Seagrove's dreadful estuary/mockney accent.
I don't want to slate it too much because humanity is a much missed commodity these days but to present this film as pedestrian and stilted is to do it a kindness.
The dialogue is risibly melodramatic as is Seagrove's dreadful estuary/mockney accent.
I don't want to slate it too much because humanity is a much missed commodity these days but to present this film as pedestrian and stilted is to do it a kindness.
Very powerful story
paper122 July 2020
Very powerful story! Yes the acting was whatever, but the story was very powerful. I'm British and Jewish so I have to say it touched me perhaps more than other films. Certain parts of the film towards the end sort of shocked me with the reality of WWII. Would highly recommend watching this.
Very poor acting
swim-3502516 March 2019
British ordeals under German occupation
clanciai19 January 2023
Jersey was the only British territory ever occupied by the Germans, it occurred in the Second World War, and this film makes a thorough realisation of how it was. There is no human German here. The Russian prisoners, collected from Europe to work in the quarries, are treated like beasts, and the pressure of the German authorities on the innocent population, mostly women, is horrendous. One mother, whose son is out in the war, finds no choice but to take care of and protect a Russian prisoner who has escaped, he lives under the protection of the family and becomes like one of them, learning English and giving practical service whenever he can. It almost becomes idyllic, but the Germans will not let them be. The liberation of Jersey was belated because it was not included in the invasion, with disastrous consequences for this family. The acting is superb, Sophie Skelton as the mother delivers credibility, and Julian Kostov in his constant turmoil between despair and happiness, makes a gripping performance. The whole production is watertight realistic, the realism almost becomes too much as it always does in 2nd world war films, which only affirms the grimness and truth of the realism. It's a strong film of almost documentary quality, but you would not willingly watch it again.
Good Acting from the Main Characters
rosann-johnson28 June 2021
This is really poor
tobydale14 February 2022
When films are this poor it's sometimes difficult to know where to start.
Perhaps the best place to start is where the story/scriptwriters choose to start - which is, effectively in the middle of the story of the German occupation of the Channel Islands in 1942. It's a bad place to choose to start because the watcher has no idea what has gone on or is going on as the film opens.
In fact the film starts at the shocking deportations of "English born" from the Channel Islands September 1942 - February 1943. This appalling act by the German authorities could itself be a subject of a quite good film in it's own right - but that's not where the story goes at all. Instead the watcher is treated to seeing Russian slave workers getting off a boat in Bristol docks and wondering what the hell is going on. Yes - that's right - this low budget movie hasn't been within 100 miles of Jersey. It's filmed probably in Somerset somewhere. Just for that this film should be condemned. It doesn't even look like Jersey for Pete's sake. They couldn't afford to move a film crew there obviously.
Because the story pitches into the middle there is no build up and no back plot. Anyone who knew nothing about the occupation of Jersey would be none the wiser for watching this. For those of us who do know something about Jersey this film is disappointing to the point of excruciating.
Although the shocking true story of Louisa Gould is compelling, the script is poor and top acting (Seagrove, Hannah) cannot redeem it. The scenes and dialogue are not convincing. Instead the piece relies on very good interiors and costume which do manage to convey the spirit (and gloom) of that time. Indeed this spirit of irretrievable gloom is the only thing that works here. Elsewhere, we are treated to the usual stereotypes of German oppression and brutality and the whole thing soon unravels. It may get the watchers attention - but good films aren't carried by such devices.
Considering the subject matter - Another Mother's Son is a film that is so poor that it really shouldn't have been made. It doesn't and can't have a positive ending. This film doesn't tell us anything that we don't already know.
Perhaps the best place to start is where the story/scriptwriters choose to start - which is, effectively in the middle of the story of the German occupation of the Channel Islands in 1942. It's a bad place to choose to start because the watcher has no idea what has gone on or is going on as the film opens.
In fact the film starts at the shocking deportations of "English born" from the Channel Islands September 1942 - February 1943. This appalling act by the German authorities could itself be a subject of a quite good film in it's own right - but that's not where the story goes at all. Instead the watcher is treated to seeing Russian slave workers getting off a boat in Bristol docks and wondering what the hell is going on. Yes - that's right - this low budget movie hasn't been within 100 miles of Jersey. It's filmed probably in Somerset somewhere. Just for that this film should be condemned. It doesn't even look like Jersey for Pete's sake. They couldn't afford to move a film crew there obviously.
Because the story pitches into the middle there is no build up and no back plot. Anyone who knew nothing about the occupation of Jersey would be none the wiser for watching this. For those of us who do know something about Jersey this film is disappointing to the point of excruciating.
Although the shocking true story of Louisa Gould is compelling, the script is poor and top acting (Seagrove, Hannah) cannot redeem it. The scenes and dialogue are not convincing. Instead the piece relies on very good interiors and costume which do manage to convey the spirit (and gloom) of that time. Indeed this spirit of irretrievable gloom is the only thing that works here. Elsewhere, we are treated to the usual stereotypes of German oppression and brutality and the whole thing soon unravels. It may get the watchers attention - but good films aren't carried by such devices.
Considering the subject matter - Another Mother's Son is a film that is so poor that it really shouldn't have been made. It doesn't and can't have a positive ending. This film doesn't tell us anything that we don't already know.
A Story Worth Telling
malcolmgsw17 December 2021
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