Mammoth

Dir. Luke Moodysson
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Run Srinikornchot
Germany/ Sweden/ Denmark, 2009, 125 mins.

Mammoth is a study on care, globalization, and what it means to be parents. Scandinavian director Luke Moodysson takes a break from his more experimental, art house films for his first English-language film and the result is a deeply-moving narrative, beautifully shot and chock full of expressively detailed visuals.

The film opens on an affluent American couple portrayed by Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams playing with their 7-year old daughter in their sprawling, highly designed New York apartment. As the film progresses, the audience sees that both parents feel extremely guilty for not spending more time with their daughter, who is primarily cared for by their live-in Filipino nanny, Gloria (played by Marife Necesito). At the same time, a second narrative opens in the Philippines, where Gloria’s two sons are being cared for by a family relative. Gloria also struggles between feeling guilty for being away from her sons and trying to stay strong while earning enough money in America to support her family back home. Finally, a third narrative opens in Thailand when Bernal’s character arrives on a business trip. Over the course of his trip, he becomes close with a sex-worker, who we learn is also simply trying to make a living in order to support her child.

Comparable in many ways to 2006’s Babel, the narratives in Mammoth intertwine and collide. The film was very well acted, full of intensely moving moments, and leaves the audience with a lot to think about.