VIFF 2009 | Mammoth at Schema : more than ethnic

VIFF 2009 | Mammoth

Mammoth
Sweden/Denmark/Germany, 2009, 135min
DIR: Lukas Moodyson

We open with Leo (Gael Garcia Bernal), Ellen (Michelle Williams) and their eight-year-old daughter Jackie (Sophie Nyweide) jostling playfully around in their posh New York apartment. Cut to a regular day: Ellen is a committed surgeon pushing late hours and Leo is the head of a thriving internet-gaming website. Although the couple is in a loving relationship, Ellen and Leo are both heavily involved in their successful careers and neither parent spends much time at home with their daughter.

With Leo away on a business trip in Thailand and Ellen's recent medical and emotional attention fixed on a young boy admitted for stab wounds in intensive care, Jackie is left to be looked after by her Filipino nanny, Gloria. Gloria too, has children of her own in the Philippines and, although her bond with Jackie grows, she is burdened by the thought of being away from her sons and misses them dearly.

Not intentionally wanting to distance themselves from their families yet unable to find a solution, each character individually faces difficult decisions throughout the course of the film. With personal and familial responsibility on the line, a series of events forces them to come to terms with what they find most important.

Lukas Moodysson is meticulous in his dedication to character development, though the results do not seem contrived or overworked. On the contrary, Mammoth's overall narrative and individual profiles read as subtle and translatable, creating a dynamic and emotionally-moving piece.

Schema Magazine's coverage of VIFF 2009 is sponsored by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival