About the Film
Vladimir Bitokov’s haunting second feature takes place in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, a world where children grow up to be either unemployed or mercenaries, who must pick up arms to fight for a private Russian military contractor. Tonya, a bus-driver in a village on the outskirts of Nalchik, together with her daughter are eagerly awaiting the return of Tonya’s only son, who is fighting in this army, in Syria.
But when Tonya is told her son has been killed in action, she refuses to believe it and embarks on a battle of her own — against the military contractor, the authorities, and even common sense.
If we believe that cinema offers a cultural bridge for humanity, then Bitokov’s latest oeuvre is a connecting thread to comprehending the faces behind the oft-heard headlines.
As the filmmaker himself stated, “Tonya lives next door to you no matter what part of the world you are from,” and that is the theme at the center of his work. Tonya’s sense of regret, as the one who has persuaded her son to take up arms, as well as the media circus that surrounds her are all narratives too common to us these days. This makes the film only that much more important a watch.
Mama, I’m Home is a kind of thriller, told in shades of Kafka. But it’s also an ode to courageous women everywhere, and the forces that threaten them. The film benefits from the stellar performances of Kseniya Rappoport, who plays Tonya, and Yura Borisov (from Compartment no. 6, which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival), playing the mysterious stranger who appears at her door claiming to be her long lost son. The film is produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Alexander Rodnyansky, as well as Sergey Melkumov and is written by Maria Izyumova.
E. Nina Rothe