![]() ![]() The lesson on the impact of classic literature is marred somewhat (or perhaps accentuated) by the “above all, to thine own self be true” quote from Shakespeare. The really positive messages about family economics and mutual encouragement sometimes have some less-than-ideal elements to them like the subtle drift from scrimping and saving so that Nels can go to high school in the beginning of the movie, to Katrin’s automatic college-or-a-job mindset a few years later. Some of the children also give way to supposedly humorous criticism of their aunts which, although true, is still probably inappropriate. Young viewers will, however, recognize that the children’s behavior or attitudes are wrong, because the movie actually portrays Mama and Papa as the wisest ones in the family (an unusual concept in the world of film, even then). This results, presumably, in one child’s carefree inattention to them, another’s condescension, and another’s refusal to repent of disobedience and, carrying on the vicious cycle, Mama and Papa fail to discipline them. Mama and Papa reprove their children, but do not discipline them. Their failures usually carry their own punishment, however. One character is seen dying, peacefully but in occasional pain.Īs has already been said, I Remember Mama is about an imperfect family, with imperfect parents. The timid, emotionally-sensitive maiden aunt says that she will “jump in the bay” if her sisters laugh at her though I doubt she meant it. He does, however, fit the Proverbs 31:6-7 criteria on at least one occasion. One of the extended family members is rumored to be an alcoholic, and his companionable flask and determination to “finish the bottle” that he had already almost emptied, rather seem to confirm the suggestion. They serve and partake of port and sherry as an element of hospitality, never drinking to excess. One other thing about the family-they were not teetotalers. Some viewers may find Papa’s pipe smoking offensive others might find it charming. Now, the meaning of the Norwegian phrase he chose was really fairly harmless, but the little boy probably wouldn’t have used it so often if he had known that. One of the more eccentric characters does what I think should not have been done: he teaches a little boy swear words. In the film, actually, not knowing what the words meant led to an assumption in the other direction. ![]() Whether ignorance is bliss or not, that is the worst of the minced oaths in the movie. You probably ought to be aware of the origins of “Gee willikers,” but on the other hand, it can’t offend you much, if you don’t know what it signifies. There are a few things you need to be aware of, however (besides the possibility of the children in your family talking like Norwegian immigrants for the next week). It is steady and picturesque, rather than dramatic, with ups and downs but without a single, mid-life finale. And, like our own lives, I Remember Mama isn’t a plot-driven story. I Remember Mama isn’t about a family that learns how to love and look after one another at the climax of the movie it’s about a family that, like most of ours, is committed to each other already, and simply goes on working out the details of that commitment as the years go by. The second thing you notice will be the family itself. When the story opens, the first thing you are going to notice is that I Remember Mama is the story of a family that, like so many other families, is a mixture of the Old Country and the New World-Norway and early twentieth-century San Francisco. I Remember Mama isn’t the story of a perfect family, or even necessarily a Christian family, and it’s not a perfect movie, but it is unusually heartening nonetheless. There are parts of the book that I wish wouldn’t have been there, just like there are parts I wish would have made it into the film and where the movie differs from the original story, it is a mixture of improvement and awkward moral decline. Of course, as with most pieces of media, I couldn’t recommend either one without disclaimers. In the case of I Remember Mama, however, I found that I enjoyed both. To see the new review, click here.īook-to-movies are great in theory, but it rarely ever happens that the film is as good as the book, or even the other way around-that the book isn’t inferior to the movie adaptation. This movie has been reviewed in our new format and rating system. ![]()
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