Another Mother's Son

However it has to be said that this was a story better told on TV than in the cinema. This in fact had a very limited cinema release and I watched this on DVD. People like the main character should be remembered.

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.

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.

Too many close calls and risks taken that weren't needed. Why do casting agents throw one bad actor in with all the good ones, and even worse, list her first in a starring role?

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.

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.

I thought it was great! Profound true story. All the acting was organic with strong performances. Great script! YES, watch it!

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.

I felt this very interesting true story could have been better served by a better production. It seemed to be rushed, poorly acted in places, Dissapointed.

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.