In a small village in Thailand, Pomm takes care of Europeans with Alzheimer’s. Separated from her children, she helps Elisabeth during the final stages of her life, as a new patient arrives from Switzerland.
Pomm has sacrificed being close to her children in order to earn a better living. Meanwhile in Switzerland, a family prepares to say goodbye to their mother; a woman who has developed Alzheimer’s in her 50s. Both Pomm and her patients are trying to recover the pieces of their lives that are gone, but through love and kindness they will learn to care for each other.
MOTHER is an intimate and moving observation that explores the struggles and expectations of motherhood and the frustrations of being unable to care for our family members. The film celebrates elder care professionals while lamenting the sacrifices often required to earn a living in the developing world, highlighting the ways in which the geopolitical North continues to perpetuate centuries of economic and social imbalance. Special care and consideration is also paid to the immense sacrifice and difficult decisions that can plague families attempting to provide adequate care for their loved ones.
As two narratives collide in this extraordinary confluence of international circumstances, the powerful connection between patients and caregivers challenges preconceptions and celebrates what it means to be, and have, a mother.
