Worldfest 2017 Review: ‘The Girl, the Mother and the Demons’

While covering the 50th Annual WorldFest-Houston film festival this weekend, I had the privilege of attending the US premiere of the brilliant Swedish film: The Girl, the Mother and the Demons.

“An eight-year old girl, Ti, lives in isolation with her mentally ill mother. There are piles of trash, urine-filled bottles and demons who are only seen and heard by her mother. The situation become dangerous when the demons take over her mother’s world entirely, and thus her own. It is up to Ti to deal with changing moods and bizarre outbursts. This story truly defines the unconditional love of a little girl for her mother.”

I experienced a wealth of emotions watching The Girl, the Mother and the Demons. For such a dark film that is often sad, there is also a lot of beauty, whimsy, and humor. The story is told from the perspective of the little girl, Ti (Esther Quigley), who just wants to be a little kid. She loves her mom and tries to obey her, but things keep getting worse every day, and there are many days where she is unable to eat or bathe. She is bullied at school for her appearance and smell, and she lives in total squalor because of her mother’s problems.

Occasionally, the story will shift perspective to that of the mother, Siri (Maria Sundbom). Whenever this happens, we get a glimpse of the demons who rule her life. They are often represented as a group of up to seven similar-looking men and one old woman, who manipulate her and tell her what to do. Sometimes they convince her she’s at a fancy party and she needs to dance with them, other times it’s much darker and she does things like stab herself repeatedly in the face with a sewing needle. In the most extreme events, they try to make her kill herself, and when that fails they want her to kill Ti.

As I mentioned, The Girl, the Mother and the Demons is a dark story, but there is a lot of love between the characters. Often times they have adventures together and we get to see Ti’s imagination take over the story. There’s just as much light in the movie as there is darkness.

The performances in the movie were stellar. There is so much chemistry between Sundbom and Quigley, and it really comes through on-screen. The cinematography was excellent. There were many scenes that were experienced through Siri’s hallucinations, or Ti’s dreams, and they were all beautiful and strange. I loved the music throughout the film as well. It created tension where it needed to, and provided a calming effect the rest of the time. Anders Niska’s score was impeccable. 

The Girl, The Mother and The Demons was written by Suzanne Osten and Erik Uddenberg, and directed by Suzanna Osten. Following the film, Osten did a short Q&A and recounted how her own personal experiences of growing up with a mentally ill mother and how it led her to want to tell this story. She wanted to show to young people what it was like, so that they could recognize the symptoms and get help sooner rather than later. Osten is heavily involved with The Swedish Schizophrenia Association, and seeks to raise awareness and build networks in support of children who have parents, guardians, or close family members with psychotic disorders.

This story was originally written by Osten as a book, and then translated into a theatrical play, before eventually being made into a stunning film. On its initial release, the Swedish organization that regulates film declared it unsuitable for anyone under the age of 15. Osten took them to court, because to her, the best possible people to see the film were children, as it could help them avoid experiencing some of the things she did. She won the court case and now the film is available to everyone in her home country. She is an incredible woman, and this is an incredible story. In my opinion, it is a must-watch.