The Only Mom 2019

Aung Thura, Nine Nine, a magazine press editor, and his wife May Wutt Hmone Shwe Yi, along with their autistic daughter Siri Pyae Pyae, move to a quaint old colonial house in Yay-Nan-Chaung for Nine Nine’s new job.

Upon arrival, Nine Nine becomes drawn to antique glass photographs on the walls—the former owner Daung Daung, a photographer, and his adopted children—captured with an old mirror photography technique that gives the images a lifelike feel.

On the second night, Siri wakes and wanders the house in search of her beloved doll. In the attic, she meets a girl about her age named Thida Ton Ton, and the two quickly bond as they play through the night. Thida explains she has been watching over the house but omits that she is a spirit trapped with her mother. She even suggests taking a picture with her father’s camera to trap Siri’s soul inside the camera.

Days pass; Siri sleeps through the day and is awake only at night, a pattern that unsettles her parents and disrupts their sense of normalcy.

One night, Aung Thura is awakened by what sounds like Siri’s voice calling to him, and he is plagued by nightmares that something is seriously wrong. The next morning, he discovers an old photograph of the children who once lived there tucked away in storage and he feels compelled to investigate their fate.

Reluctant to accept that Siri is possessed, May resists the idea and the couple seeks help from a Myanmar spirit medium known as Nat Ka Taw. Their efforts are blocked by the spirit of Daung, who claims to be the mother of the adopted children. Left with little choice, May bravely jumps into a nearby lake to seek a passage to the spirit realm.

Siri is saved, but May dies as a result of Daung’s fierce spirit. May’s own spirit becomes trapped within the walls of the house alongside Thida, who had always wished for a loving mother, while Daung’s spirit finds peace. Siri and Aung Thura, now free from the haunting presence, depart the town, leaving behind the echoes of their sorrowful journey.