Mother of Mine

Recounts a momentous event in Finnish history. During World War II, eighty thousand children were sent to neighbouring Sweden and Denmark for their protection. Alienated and unfamiliar with the language, these refugees were forced to live through the war without their parents and with little news from home. Eero, who, as a nine-year-old boy, is sent to rural Sweden by his mother following the death of her husband. As if the abrupt transition was not traumatic enough, Eero’s new family doesn’t exactly welcome him: his surrogate mother Signe, who was hoping for a girl to help her around the house, is infuriated. The kids at his school think he’s weird, and mock him when he hides from a passing plane that reminds him of the bombings back home. What’s more, Signe only gives Eero the letters from his family that she feels are appropriate. Eero begins to act out, which only makes matters much worse.