I Remember Mama (1948)
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I Remember Mama Movie Review
I Remember Mama is a 1948 drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Irene Dunne among many others. It’s a surprisingly good, underrated drama.
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“I have to chloroform a cat!“
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A young writer recalls her ups and downs of growing up as one of four children to Norwegian immigrant parents in 1910s San Francisco. This movie was nominated for five Oscars, which is the main reason why I sought out to watch it. And it’s sad that only Academy Awards completionists will watch what is one very charming gem that deserves more love from today’s cinephiles. It’s a film that was lost to time, which is a real shame.
This movie ended up doing for me what ‘How Green Was My Valley’ did not manage to do and that is to make me care for its main family enough to sit through what is over two hours of runtime. It’s an epic family drama that is so cozy, so charming and so endearing that it is very difficult not to be swept by its sentiment, even when it verges toward melodramatic and maudlin at times.
I Remember Mama developed its characters solidly and it’s a huge cast, so it’s admirable that they managed to mostly flesh them out, at least the main players. Irene Dunne is the main performer here and she was nominated for her wonderful work. She’s lovely in the role of this powerful matriarchal role. Barbara Bel Geddes and Oscar Homolka were also nominated for their very strong turns while Ellen Corby was effective in a smaller role.
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The movie became a bit too sentimental for its own sake in the second half, but at least most of its emotions were earned thanks to strong character work and excellent dialogue. The Norwegian accents were overly pronounced, but still made for a rather charming watch. The movie is technically well made, but the focus here was primarily on this family, leading to a somewhat confined, but moving immigrant drama.
I Remember Mama is an underrated gem from the forties. It’s a film that was nominated for five Oscars, but is now pretty much lost to time. Although at times too sentimental for its own sake, this is a lovely family drama that benefits from strong character work, excellent dialogue and phenomenal acting performances all-around with Irene Dunne being the standout.
My Rating – 4
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