Andre's Mother (1990)

A mother and her son's lover try to understand life without Andre who lost his life to AIDS. Originally aired on PBS as part of the American Playhouse series.System Requirements:Running Time 60 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 783421410091 Manufacturer No: WG41009 Product Description

WONDERFUL MOVIE

ANDRE'S MOM IS A WONDERFUL, VERY EMOTIONAL STORY, I DARE ANYONE NOT TO SHED A TEAR... WOULD GIVE IT 10 STARS IF POSSIBLE September 23, 2008

A Decent, Well-Acted, 45-Minute Movie

I had seen this movie on TV way back in 1991 on a local PBS station. I hadn't seen it since then. So when I got this DVD recently, I was really looking forward to seeing it again. I remembered how well-acted this movie was.

It is a very good movie. However, I noticed that some of the dialogue seemed a little "forced" in certain parts. You could tell that the actors were "reading" scripted lines. This only happened in a couple places. Other than that, all the other dialogue was rendered in a natural and effective way.

This movie is quite sad, and the actors really bring that across. You can sense their pain and hurt as they work through the anguish of Andre's death.

This is a very good movie (and very short). Well worth the investment! April 9, 2008

Love can survive death (and a correction)

I have just watched "Andre's Mother" for what must be the umpteenth time-- but the first time in months. As always, the film brings me to tears -- and not merely because my closest friend died in my arms 10 years ago of AIDS. The emotional reach of the film goes beyond one viewer's experience, mainly because of a magnificient script by Terrence McNally and heart-wrenching performances by Richard Thomas as Cal (the lover of the never seen Andre who dies of AIDS) and Sada Thompson (as Andre's mother). But, as several reviewers here have said, there's not a perfomance here that isn't moving and compelling. I will not repeat what has been so well commented on. But I do want to make a correction in two reviewers' comments, not to nit-pick but because the comments go to the heart of the film. Thompson's character cannot accept her son's gay life; it is something she cannot approve of. She sees it as some kind of condemnation of her, and she accuses Cal of having stolen Andre. There is something almost rock-like in her, as Thompson -- wrapped in a long black coat with a tight hood over her head -- rejects all of Cal's attempts to reach her. And Cal, who experienced that same rejection from his own mother, practically melts as he cries, "I had always dreamed we could be friends." But here is where the reviewers' errors come in. Both Amos Lassen and R. J. Barko say that Cal cries out that Andre's mother is "inimitable." He doesn't say that; he cries: "Why are you so implacable?" The words have vastly different meanings. "Inimitable" would mean that Andre's mother can't be imitated -- but Cal has just said his own mother was the same way. "Implacable" means that she can't be placated or appeased; I think a valid interpretation of what Cal -- who is a writer, a word-smith, if you will -- is saying is, "Why can't you be moved? Why are you so rock-like in your condemnation of Andre's being gay, of me, and of our love?" And then, this young man who has just lost the love of his life, breaks into sobs, cries, "Oh, why can't you love me?" and wraps Andre's mother in a the embrace of a child seeking protection and comfort at a time of great emotional pain. Andre's mother remains unmoving -- at first. But that little child in Cal does reach her; she does move. Hesitantly, but then with growing assurance (and, perhaps, affection), she pulls Cal into her arms, gently patting him as their hug tightens. Hesitant tears begin to flow from her eyes to match Cal's sobs. They have connected. Andre's mother no longer is implacable. October 12, 2007

Going Home

"ANDRE'S MOTHER"

Going Home

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

In 1990 PBS aired one of the most amazing dramas ever seen on prime TV, especially considering the subject matter. "Andre's Mother" (American Playhouse) by gay playwright Terrence McNally is about the AIDS epidemic and its effect on loved ones. Les than 60 minutes long, "Andre's Mother" is powerful and devastating drama. Holding nothing back, the drama goes straight for the heart. The film opens with the funeral of Andre and then moves back and forth from past to present. We never see Andre but by the end of the movie we feel we knew him. The film reminds us of what we have tried so hard to forget--the death of so many beautiful young men. In the 90's parents did not always act like parents.
I first saw the movie when my sister sent me a copy of it when I was living in Israel and I have never quite gotten over it. Seeing it again recently made me realize just how powerful it is. The script is inventive and filled with emotion. The fact that Andre's mother acted the way she did in the beginning and in the flashbacks made us wonder what ever happened to the humanity of man.
Andre's mother, Katherine comes to New York from Dallas to attend the memorial service of her son whom she lost to AIDS. The film follows her journey as she finally faces the fact about the death of her son. She is greeted in New York by her dead son's anguished lover, Cal (Richard Thomas in a bravura performance). In flashback we see her monuments of denial and miscommunication with her son. Finally Cal is able to penetrate her isolation and the two seek reconciliation and understanding. All that is missing is the one that brought them together, Andre. Andre's death created a volatile atmosphere in which feelings were repressed as well as resentments and grief that was unexpressed threatened to boil over and consume both mother and partner. Sada Thompson as Katherine is sublime and both she and Thomas give heart wrenching performances. When Cal describes Andre's battle with AIDS it is chilling. I think some of us have forgotten how devastating and debilitating the disease was. When Katherine, Andre's mother, finally is able to make peace with her son's life style that she could not understand, I felt the sun had begun to shine. But I found myself asking why it took her so long. Are we, as gay men, that horrible? The look on Andre's mother's face when she finally accepts her son's life is a picture that I will always remember. Watching Katherine with the balloons at the end of the film was sheer beauty. It hurt so badly to see Andre's mother hold such resentment for Cal but to see her make peace with him was a reward I had not co8unted upon. Cal described her as "inimitable". She would not face the reality that she had bore a gay son who actually managed to live a happy and fulfilled life. It hurt her to see Cal who had received Andre's affection and even with Andre's death she remained stoic, removed and cold. But as the story unfolds, Katherine's defenses come down and her heart is opened ad she comes to love and know the beauty that her son shared with those in his life as well as of the love he received. Se stands at a place where she must decide to face the realities that she needed to face--a beautiful son was lost to her forever and a son-in-law with whom she cold have a loving relationship with along with acquiring a new broadmindedness.
"Andre's Mother" is gorgeous and glorious, touching and beguiling. What a way to spend an hour!
January 16, 2007

Another PBS Gem

This short 1990 PBS movie by Terrence McNally-- fewer than 60 minutes long-- is as good as any drama ever written on the AIDS epidemic and is just as powerful and devastating sixteen years later. The plot is straight forward. The film opens with the funeral of Andre and then goes back and forth from the present to the past with scenes of Andre's past life (although we never see him), a visit from his mother from Dallas, conversations between his mother and grandmother, etc. The film reminds us of what many of us have tried to forget since the life-prolonging drugs were made available in the U. S. in the mid-nineties, that all too many parents acted very badly in those awful times. Many of us can relate to every frame of this movie: the elegant memorial service held by the deceased's family of choice, the members of his birth family-- at least some of them-- who do not have a clue as to what is going on at the service, the obligatory understanding and kind sister (in this instance his "sister-in-law"), the release of balloons to signify that we have let go the one we loved so dearly.

Richard Thomas gives an outstanding performance as Andre's lover Cal as do Sada Thompson as "Andre's Mother" and Sylvia Sidney as his grandmother. On the other hand, there is no second rate acting by anyone here.

The title is deadly. In an emotional scene after the memorial service, Cal compares Andre's mother to the comic strip character Lulu's mother, indicating that she is not even known by her own name-- it is only mentioned a time or two and never in the present-- but simply as "Andre's mother." I for one know a mother who acted so much worse in a similar situation than this woman did. I never learned her name either. On the other hand, I knew a Doris, a Lily May and a Marlene who showed unconditional love for their sick children.

Andre's memorial service begins with an otherworldly beautiful soprano aria from Mozart's "Il Re Pastore," a touch of genius on the part of the writer. December 1, 2006

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