Another Mother

Van der Oest's refugee road movie follows a Latvian father and son as they uproot from their homeland in search of a new family life in the Netherlands. Moon-faced ten-year-old Elvis has given up on talk since his mother died. Yuris, the boy's father, snatches him from hospital and the pair wing and pray their way across the Dutch countryside in search of Yuris' one-time pen-friend, and long-lost first love, Marie. There's a surprising amount packed into this superficially unassuming film: a generous-spirited overview that crosses borders, generations and lifestyles, ending on a note of hard-won, bitter-sweet optimism. A subtle and quietly touching contribution to Europe's burgeoning cinema of post-Cold War upheaval.