You are not my mother (3 Stars)

This is the 14th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival Nights.

The film takes place in a small Irish town, shortly before Halloween, which the locals call Sauin. The year isn't stated, but due to the lack of mobile phones I'd say it takes place in the 1980's.

The teenage girl Char lives with her mother and her grandmother. She's an outsider. She doesn't have any friends and she's bullied by the other girls.

One day Char's mother doesn't come home after driving her to school. Her car is found in a field with the door open. They call the police, but there are no clues. Then Char's mother returns home late at night, without an explanation where she went. Over the following days, as Halloween approaches, Char's mother is uncharacteristically happy. Char is glad, but her grandmother begins to say it isn't her real mother.

The film is slow and full of suspense. There's always a fine line with slow films. With some films it works well to intensify the atmosphere, but in the case of "You are not my mother" it's too slow.