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Review #181 of 365
Film: The Whore's Son (Hurensohn) [NR] 86 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $9
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 10 July 2006
Time: 8:00 p.m.
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| DVD |
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
The first thing to dislike about The Whore's Son (Hurensohn) is the title. Recall, of course, that I am a film critic that firmly believes in judging films by their titles. Maybe the same cannot be said about books, but movies, YES. There are not too many people I know for whom even the thought of walking up to the counter and asking for a ticket to this film would be easy. How about carrying the stub home for the ticket collection? Nonetheless, this is the title of the book upon which it was based, and therefore, we must live with it. The title says a great deal, actually, about the feelings the film eventually will conjure. It begins with a very brief, on-camera monologue by the film's star and title referenced character, Ozren played in his elder years by Stanislav Lisnic with soulful and almost empathic eyes. He reveals with a strange duality of emotion a mournful bit of regret paired with shallow solemnity that he has just killed his mother and that things didn't work out quite as he had hoped for he could never be the young man she wanted him to be. Flash then back to his age of about 7 months in a tiny flat in Croatia where his very beautiful, unmarried, prostitute mother, Silvija (Chulpan Khamatova), battles it out with his alleged father tossing his belongings over the balcony onto the street below. Shortly thereafter, she leaves the soon to be war-torn region and head to join her brother, Ante (Miki Manojlovic), and sister, Ljiljana (Ina Gogalova) in Germany seeking a better life for herself and her son. Unfortunately, her she finds her money-making habits hard to break, and she continues the life of a prostitute. As Ozren grows up, he is led to believe that his mother is a waitress. She so stifles his growth and coddles him, however, that eventually it remains unclear if he was destined to have emotional problems and learning differences or if these were forced into him somewhat. Later, we see him in school with other kids with varying degrees of learning differences, but it is never clear if he really belongs. That sense of a lack of belonging in him is omnipresent. As he alludes in his opening monologue, he is not able to be the person his mother wants him to be, he is not able to be the person he wants to be, perhaps he isn't even certain of who he wants to be. As he grows up, unfortunately, other people also make it into quite a great sport to tell him that his idealized vision of his Mummy is just that, an ideal, for she is really a prostitute. What form of cruel humanity ever made it so that children must bear the mark of their parents' professions? And, yet, this has long been so. Born the son of a king and become a king. Born the son of a whore, what are you to become? So it is for Ozren. He has no idea what he is to become. When he reaches the age of 16 or 17, it becomes clear to Slivija that the flat is no longer big enough for the both of them. So, she does what any good and loving prostitute mother would do, she moves out to a much fancier apartment where she can interact with her very secret and private clients without the encumbrances of a son hanging around. She leave his the old flat, pays the rent, leaves him money and nice clothes, promises him visits from his Auntie and Uncle, but she fails to give him the one thing a real mother would give him, her address and phone number. Uncle Ante says, "It's for the better." Ozren cannot imagine how or why. His world falls into mild decay. He becomes a lost pinball that keeps rolling down the side ramps and into the launcher. Well, Ozren has already given away the plot and the fate of his mother and how it all ends so badly.
"…an emotional downer of a film which ends on a sad note…"
And thus is so for the film, unfortunately, the sort of "not in polite company" feeling one gets in requesting a ticket for this film is left there in the pit of your stomach as the film ends. Are we supposed to feel badly for Ozren or Silvija? Are we supposed to accept their end as fate or destiny? What have we learned? What has Ozren learned? In the end, I just felt sad. I wondered why things had to go the way they did for Ozren. I also wondered if such a story serves a purpose other than to make people sad. So, from the point of view of the story, I cannot rave about this film. As for the acting, the acting was quite good. All of the major cast members shined, with Mr. Lisnic leading the pack. Chulpan Khamatova had to play Ozren's mother over the span of the 16 years of the film, and it was fascinating to watch her evolve from Croatian prostitute to high class German call girl. By the end she looked stunningly beautiful with long, silky brown hair. Director Michael Sturminger has done a very good job of capturing the emotions of the actors and the dreariness of their lives. Overall, again, I would simply say that this is an emotional downer of a film that ends on a sad note without any glimpse of a hopeful future for any of the characters.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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The Whore's Son (Hurensohn) [DVD](2004) DVD
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The Whore's Son Review-lite [150-word cap]
The title, The Whore's Son, says a great deal about the feelings the film eventually will conjure. Beginning with an on-camera monologue by 16/17-year old Ozren played by Stanislav Lisnic with soulful eyes, he reveals with a strange duality of emotion a mournful bit of regret paired with shallow solemnity that he has just killed his mother, Silvija (Chulpan Khamatova), and that things didn't work out as he had hoped. The rest of the film chronicles his life from age 7 months, when his prostitute mother left Croatia for a better life in Germany for her son, to 17 years. Director Michael Sturminger did a great job of capturing the emotions of the actors and the dreariness of their lives. Overall, this is an emotional downer of a film that ends on a sad note without any glimpse of a hopeful future for any of the characters.
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