Search - I Remember Mama on DVD

A Heartwarming Treasure of a Classic!

City Of Evanston | 07/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Iss Good! We don't have to go to the bank." Like finding buried treasure ~ this film is a real gem! About the day to day struggles of an immigrant Norwegian family living in San Fransisco at the turn of the century. The innocence and old-world charm of this colorful family is irresistable with Irene Dunne playing the part of Mama. (My favorite classics actress next to Myrna Loy). Narrated by the eldest Daughter recounting stories of her childhood, it's a tale of human frailties, strength, self-sacrifice, loyalty and love. A charming, classic and must see."

Mama as Memory

Martin Asiner | jersey city, nj United States | 08/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Few films can tug at the heart strings as well as I REMEMBER MAMA. Adapted from the John Van Druten play, which was itself taken from the Kathryn Forbes novel, I REMEMBER MAMA captures indelibly slices of time in the life of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco at the turn of the 19th century. Narrated by a grown up Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes), the film combines the problems of adapting to life in the United States with solutions that seem unworkable to those still steeped in the ways of the Old Country. At the center is Mama(Irene Dunne), who orchestrates the lives of her large extended family. Irene Dunne is superb with her profound understanding of human nature. She shows in scene after scene that a matriarch must be flexible enough to account for and guide the divergent personalities of her family. For her sisters, Mama makes it clear that she will not permit them to bully her vulnerable children. For her children, she extends praise when it is needed and stoicism when that is needed too. And for the boarder who skips town without paying his owed rent, she resigns herself that he has paid in a different coin, that of reading the classics to her children, thus inculcating in them a love of words. Surrounding Irene Dunne is a group of superb supporting actors, all of whom add flavor to a film that is linked only by the memories of Katrin. Perhaps the most outstanding job is the one done by the non-paying boarder, Mr.Hyde (Cedric Hardwicke), who nightly regales the family with timeless tales narrated in his booming voice, the sum total of which is to create a story within a story with each passing tale. Although the years pass, no one seems to age, and that is all right since the segue from scene to scene is accomplished so seamlessly that the audience scarcely notices. Oscar Homolka as Uncle Chris hits just the right note as the blustery yet kindly man who hides his kindness beneath a pushy attitude. Interspersed through key scenes in the movie are the appearances of Katrin, who interrupts the narrative to talk directly to the audience, commenting like a subdued omniscient narrator on the plot. Again, rather than putting off the audience with a style of narration that in another film would surely be seen as intrusive, in I REMEMBER MAMA, Katrin's comments, as well as all the various strands of the film, are seen instead as welcome threads that unite what could have been an aimless, disjointed movie into a chronicle of a family that rings true with each passing scene. Not many movies can come close to accomplishing this. Homolka, Bel Gedddes, and Dunne were all nominated for Academy Awards. This is truly one of the most heart-warming films of all time."