2023

Mother Superior 

Some things should remain lost. 

Mother Superior follows Sigrun, a caregiver in 1975 who is using her career to find out where she came from - and learn why her families history was wiped away from existence. 

The eerie nature of this story that combines witchcraft with what seemed like a post-war Nazi sympathizer, made for a seriously haunting viewing experience. This hallucination filled gothic trip does a great job of creating an ominous presence, that creepily maneuvered it’s way through this dark tale of a lost history.

There were some subtle moments that I think I was meant to understand as grander gestures, which would have required me to have a deeper understanding of the bible or Nazi history, which I admittedly don't have. 

Even though the ending fell flat, I thought it was compelling enough story of a terrifying past, that continues to manifest itself - well after its existence. 

Enjoy! 

6.5/10 🎥 🍿 

Runtime: 1hr10mins

Where: Glasgow Film Festival 

Mother Superior Review (2023)  The Richmond Reviewer 

#GFF23 #FilmFestival #MovieReview #Movie #Europe #Austrian #German 

Riceboy Sleeps 

#GFF2023

To the mothers that endure, so that their children don’t have to. 

Riceboy Sleeps is the selfless journey of So-Young, a single mother from Korea who moves to Vancouver so that she can provide her son with a better life. We follow this family as they face the trials and tribulations that come along with being immigrants in Canada during the early 1990s. 

How this movie portrays the normally unseen little moments, is what leads to how great it becomes. 

The subtleties in an Asian Mothers love language will go unnoticed until you’re old enough to understand what they truly meant by there actions. It may not be the traditional movie things like “I love you” or hugs, but instead it was working those extra hours, coming home and still finding the energy to make fresh food for you ever day. 

But it comes at a cost. 

This is as much a story of a mother, as it is about a son.

The resentment that follows of being a kid harden by his upbringing, while having his differences magnified by his peers, then inevitably trying  to conform and fit in by whitewashing his differences away. They contrast the two journeys of mother and son so well, that if they were better at communicating,  they would realize how similar their journey through life truly  was.

My favorite moment in the movie was when the screen pans out from its boxed frame, signifying that they were finally free - which was such a creative/genius way of transitioning the change that was to come.

As someone who grew up with a single mother, this movie broke me. It's by far the best movie I've this year, but it will take the right audience to understand how powerful this story truly is.

Riceboy Sleeps is Canadian cinema at its best, and a story you will wish you could watch again for the first time.

Enjoy! 

9/10 🎥 🍿 

Runtime: 2hrs2mins

Riceboy Sleeps (2023) Movie Review The Richmond Reviewer.
Glasgow Film Festival 2023