Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Nathan Miller
Cast
Sophie Cattani,
Christine Citti,
Yves Verhoeven,
Maxime Renard,
Olivier Guéritée,
Ludo Harley
Genre
Drama
Thomas is a frustrated teenage boy living with his adopted parents, and is obsessed with his birth mother. He finally goes to search for her, attempting to understand why she would have abandoned him, and finds that she is living alone, and had a third son with another man who she hasn’t given up.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
I'm Glad My Mother Is Alive is anything but the clichéd fantasy of a blissful mother-child reunion. Although there are hints of joy once they reconnect, the wounds are too deep, and the characters too complex.
IndieWire by Eric Kohn
The first half of I'm Glad My Mother's Alive effectively inhabits a child's mind in a manner that recalls Maurice Pialat's marvelous 1968 debut "The Naked Childhood."
Time Out
Barely 17 when she had Thomas, she's more like a peer than a parent, enough so that their uncomfortable relationship starts to take on a smattering of sexual tension. There's a nagging vagueness to this aspect of the movie, one that's difficult to square with the opening claim that it's based on real events; at a certain point, you may wonder which events they mean.
Time Out by Sam Adams
Barely 17 when she had Thomas, she's more like a peer than a parent, enough so that their uncomfortable relationship starts to take on a smattering of sexual tension. There's a nagging vagueness to this aspect of the movie, one that's difficult to square with the opening claim that it's based on real events; at a certain point, you may wonder which events they mean.
The A.V. Club
Until the film takes an abrupt, annoyingly melodramatic late turn, the Millers handle Rottiers' character with great delicacy, aided by strong lead performances and a refusal to show Rottiers' adopted home as either idealized or seriously lacking.
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
The narrative easily goes back and forth in time; despite its Oedipal subtext, it avoids exploitation. Stellar performances by Rottiers and Cattani help keep the movie on track.
The A.V. Club by Alison Willmore
Until the film takes an abrupt, annoyingly melodramatic late turn, the Millers handle Rottiers' character with great delicacy, aided by strong lead performances and a refusal to show Rottiers' adopted home as either idealized or seriously lacking.
Slant Magazine by Bill Weber
An understated--and at times, clinical to a fault--Oedipal drama of long-simmering resentment and familial love's ambiguities, I'm Glad My Mother Is Alive risks bringing chilly subjectivity to sensational raw material.
New York Daily News
Based on a true story, co-writer/director Claude Miller ("A Secret") gets points for using a bit of narrative sketchiness to good effect.
New York Daily News by Joe Dziemianowicz
Based on a true story, co-writer/director Claude Miller ("A Secret") gets points for using a bit of narrative sketchiness to good effect.
Village Voice by Melissa Anderson
Despite the clumsy script and a shaky acting partner, Cattani, at least, is fascinating to watch, never demanding audience sympathy.
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