Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival Review: Two Mothers (2013) - NP Approved

Cast: Karina Plachetka, Sabine Wolf, Florian Weber
Director: Anne Zohra Berrached
Country: Germany
Genre: Drama

Editor’s Note: The following review is part of our coverage of the 2014 Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival. For more information visit queerscreen.org.au or follow @Qscreen on Twitter.

While Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winning Blue Is The Warmest Color is getting worldwide attention for its frank, explicit and extended lesbian lovemaking sequences and the reveal of behind the scenes tensions between cast and crew, Two Mothers is likely to glide by under most people’s radar. Without the racy scissoring and reported in fighting to serve as water cooler topic banter, Two Mothers didn’t really stand a chance. The uneven playing field that has occurred here is extremely unfortunate, with this overlooked film equally worthy of a wide audience as its lesbian themed counter part.

There are no surprises that this ordeal creates riffs in the relationship, but Two Mothers is a case of the journey being the point, and not necessarily the destination.

This small, simple and intimate yet devastatingly emotional film captures the struggles of one working class lesbian couple in Germany who are trying to conceive. Bound by restrictive laws and their dwindling bank balance, video shop clerk Katja (Sabine Wolf) and part time florist Isabella (Karina Plachetka) try every avenue to bring a baby into their loving relationship. A decision and process that is simple and problem-free for most heterosexual couples (many of whom would take it all for granted) becomes an increasing living nightmare for this minority couple.

The pair wades through the painstaking and time-consuming legal, medical, ethical and financial barriers throughout several months, turning to a slew of unhelpful clinics, lawyers, potential sperm donors and even a man who sells homemade do-it-yourself insemination kits.

There are no surprises that this ordeal creates riffs in the relationship (who wouldn’t be at their wits end after all the hoops these two have to jump through?), but Two Mothers is a case of the journey being the point, and not necessarily the destination.

What makes the story compelling and heartbreaking is that the process only wares one of the women down while the other remains optimistic, leaving this in synch couple suddenly on different pages. Katja’s plight is a fascinating one rarely acknowledged or explored; she is faced with feeling like the third wheel as she is not able to contribute to the conception of this child, nor will she be carrying the foetus.

 It is the natural performances of these two leading ladies that creates an impeccable sense of realism. These two are not acting, they are being. 

Her doubts and insecurities, understandably, begin to surface. It is the natural performances of these two leading ladies that creates an impeccable sense of realism. These two are not acting, they are being. The locations, while rarely the focus, have been carefully chosen as the backdrop for this story to play out, enhancing the authenticity of the piece. From the small, modest apartment building that the two inhabit to the bare bones train station that they frequent - a run-down cement block next to a railway alongside a bustling freeway, these women are trapped in mundane and depressing surrounds that they seemingly cannot escape, not even with the potential joy of pending motherhood.

These elements compounded with the intimate, hand held (but most importantly, reasonably stable) camerawork, results in this fictional film playing out more like a documentary. The only misstep is the final shot. Without giving anything away, it is one moment that is meant to hit you in the guts and leave you stunned, but the smash cut to black left the audience in a fit of giggles. While it does not detract from the overall achievements this film has made, it is an unfortunate and lasting hiccup.

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Julian Wright

Staff Film Critic

I am a film reviewer and blogger from Perth, Western Australia. I fell in love with cinema at an early age when I saw my first horror film and realised the impact movies can have on a person. For me it was terrifying me into an almost catatonic state. Later it was how much they made me laugh and cry. I'll watch pretty much anything and love indulging in a good film discussion.

Latest posts by Julian Wright (see all)

• Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival Review: Heterosexual Jill (2013) - March 2, 2014
• Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival Review: Two Mothers (2013) - NP Approved - March 2, 2014
• Review: RoboCop (2014) - February 9, 2014