Mother
An elderly mother gathers her scattered children into a tender reckoning with memory, family bonds, and the rituals surrounding her final journey.
Overview
A poignant exploration of family bonds and the acceptance of mortality.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- tender
- reflective
- quiet evening
- reflective viewing
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The adult children gather around their mother and revive common childhood memories through interwoven events.
The mother actively and joyfully arranges the ceremonies and practical details to follow her death.
The family’s reunion and preparations for posthumous ceremonies connect personal memory with Persian cultural customs.
The mother’s presence draws younger family members back into their shared history before her final journey.
Films like Mother, and why
The House of Sand and Fog
intergenerational family drama centered on memory, mortality, and a mother’s emotional legacy
A Separation
poignant Iranian family storytelling with intimate domestic tensions and cultural ritual
Tokyo Story
warmly melancholic family remembrance, parental love, and the passage of time
Movie Details
- Director
- Ali Hatami
- Release Date
- 1990-12-31
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (25)
Cast
- Rogheyeh Chehreh-Azad
- Mohammadali Keshavarz
- Farimah Farjami
- Amin Tarokh
- Akbar Abdi
- Hamid Jebeli
- Jamshid Hashempour
- Hamide Kheyrabadi
- Hossein Kasbian
- Mahbubeh Bayat
Common questions
- What is Mother about?
- An elderly mother gathers her scattered children into a tender reckoning with memory, family bonds, and the rituals surrounding her final journey.
- What is Mother like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mother as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mother violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Mother.
- Which films are like Mother?
- Films with a similar feel include The House of Sand and Fog, A Separation, and Tokyo Story.
- How long is Mother?
- Mother runs 108 minutes.
