My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done

Friday, February 5 - Saturday, February 6, 2010

MY SON, MY SON is based on a harrowing true story. The cop of the tale, Hank, is called to a bungalow in a respectable San Diego neighbourhood where a man named Brad has barricaded himself in his house and taken two hostages. Across the street, Brad’s mother lies dead, found sprawled in a pool of blood, the victim of a sword wound. The son is suspected of the murder. As Hank uneasily prowls the sunlit street outside the bungalow, a string of Brad’s friends arrive on the scene, among them his girlfriend and a director pal. Slowly the bizarre pieces of the story are placed in front of the cop, who tries to make sense of it all. Not only has the suspected murderer never been the same since he returned from a kayaking trip to Peru, but he also seems to be suffering from a strange mother complex. To deepen the psychosis even further, Brad has been rehearsing one of Sophocles’ plays that has a lot to do with mothers!

Herzog plays the film straight, but the mood and tone he imparts is an eerie blend of David Lynch, who executive produced the film, and his own singular style. Herzog has always been attracted to the obsessive, and in the case of this odd murder, he has found a subject more than suited to his personality. Herzog proves that his restless creative spirit is still very much alive and not restricted, as it has been until recently, to the documentary mode. – Toronto International Film Festival

“Sublime! Totally loopy… a Herzog film through-and-through. It will sit cosily next to Aguierre, Fitzcaraldo, Kaspar Hauser, and the rest as a dazzling and utterly distinctive art house movie.” – Time Out (London)

  • Country USA
  • Year 2009
  • Running Time 91 minutes
  • Distributor Absurda
  • Website http://www.myson-myson.com/
  • Director Werner Herzog
  • Cast Michael Shannon, Chloe Sevigny, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Michael Pena, Brad Dourif, Verne Troyer, Grace Zabriskie

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.