Simply A Masterpiece

Sadly Over-hyped

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This film feels stereotypical. Yet, it differs from the rest. To try to explain: In it's way of portraying lesbians it feels a bit flat and non progressive. One is a butch, the other's not, they have hot lesbian sex but are apart from that pretty cold people. But the style of the film, the editing and general scenography differs from the previous ''lesbian movies'' I've watched. While others tend to be long drawn out borderline tedious this one is straight on the other side of the chart. It feels very shortly cut which gives it almost a documentary feel to it and I think this deprives it of some depth it desperately needed hence the non saying characters. In another way, the documentary feel works in favour of the main focus of the movie, which is indeed very real. It helps the viewer feel how unjust the system works and how it tears relationships that lesbian couples has to go through this in order to have child. Even though a lot of things could've been improved I do think this movie is worth the watch because it touches such an important issue. It builds itself up at the same time as it's tearing itself apart. 6/10

"Zwei Mütter" or "Two Mothers" is a German movie from 3 years ago and the title already says what this is about. A lesbian married couple wants a child. Their attempts with authorities do not turn out successful so they try to find somebody else to help them out. I must say the longer the film went, the less bearable it became. People will say that this film is worth seeing because of the complicated subject it is about, but I agree. This is not basis enough for a recommendation. And there are major problems with this film. First of all, the acting: The younger actress is bearable, not good. The older actress has the same face expression for the entire film and adds nothing. Another aspect I found lacking here completely was the possibility of an adoption, which wasn't discussed once. And honestly, the behavior of all the male characters here seemed really hostile towards men. And all this while at the core writer and director Anne Zohra Berrached really failed to make the two protagonists look likable.I personally not only wondered why they were together, but also why they would want a child. Apart from an early sex scene, there is no harmony between the two, no simple gestures of love. I am not mad they got rejected again and again. To me, their love with constant passive-aggressive behavior from both sides is not strong enough to let them deal with the responsibility of a child. And what is with all the pickiness. It is their own fault it takes so long if they refuse a man who is in his sixties for example only due to stupid ageism discrimination. Luckily for audiences, this film is only 75 minutes long and this already includes credits. I feel sorry for women who really are in such a situation as this film does not do them and their suffering and longing any justice at all. I truly hope Berrached's new film that is talked about a lot already and again has a major reference to motherhood turns out better. This one here is a disappointment and I cannot agree with the awards attention it received. Not recommended.

The German film Zwei Mütter was shown in the United States as Two Mothers (2013). It was written and directed by Anne Zohra Berrached.The movie stars Karina Plachetka as Isabella Bürgelin and Sabine Wolf as Katja Maria Maisch. Isabella and Katia are a loving lesbian couple who want to conceive a baby. Artificial insemination is a standard practice in Germany, but not for same-sex couples.The pair meet numerous obstacles--both legal and financial--in the Catch-22 world of German medical politics. They also meet some potential sperm donors, who all say they are motivated by altruism. However, altruism is obviously pretty far down the list for most of these men.Not being able to conceive a child is a problem in itself. But it's also a dividing force that acts to separate the two women. For example, they were seemingly happy with one partner being the main provider, and the other just doing casual work. However, that becomes an issue when financial stability enters the picture. The film has an interesting, albeit somewhat unsettling, ending, when several of these strands come together.Zwei Mütter is a movie worth finding and viewing. We saw it at the Little Theatre as part of Image Out, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work very well on the small screen.