The Time Traveler's Mom Time Traveled Too

I read the Book, The mother is not a Time Traveler in the book.

I watched the film only once, (all I could take), but have read the book several times, and in neither case do I remember any reference to Henry's mother being a time traveler.


You're forgetting one thing- I just started using laser cats again!

A VERY interesting thought. The movie certainly doesn't indicate that in any way ... but neither does preclude that from being possible.

However, if she were a time traveler, you would think she would have recognized adult Henry on the subway, and perhaps have been willing to talk about it to adult Henry in a way she couldn't with her 6 year old Henry.

I don't think either of Henry's parents time traveled but it's an interesting idea. If his mother and daughter traveled but could control it to some extent then you could speculate that female time travelers are generally better equipped to deal with the situation. Meanwhile the poor old male just gets thrown back and forth and must deal with it as best he can. Which means the author has given her gender an inbuilt advantage which seems unfair to me! We males must band together and protest this discrimination ;-)

While I don't think the movie is meant to make you think that his mom time traveled too. I do think it's an interesting thought that maybe she did have the ability to but never did because she always sung and just stayed in the present.

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Given that the time traveling is supposed to be a heritable genetic condition, it is reasonable to expect some of his parents or other relatives to be time travelers. It was not discussed in the movie (or in the book, I hear) but it could have been an interesting addition.

Hi from 2016. You have a fair point I think since Alba says she sings to herself to stop from travelling when Henry asks how she stops herself.


faith begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Yes, I totally agree. It's a very interesting point and an excellent observation with a keen imaginative mind. You brought up a very arousing and pertinent idea. Even it's not the intention of the movie's director or the author of the book, it's relevant and more effective to the story. I like this additional detail to the story.

And, to the people who keep complaining about the movie vs. the book... stop it! People who read the book will automatically know the differences, and people who did not will not... that's a given. No one needs to religiously point that out in every movie that based on a book. We've also all known that a movie cannot be exactly as a book because of its obvious difference as a story telling medium. Something can be said and explain in books cannot be replicate in movies or vice versa. The director and producers have to work within a budget, time length, and numerous other technical constraints. At times, they have to tell the story a different way or just differently to keep the movie interesting, more at pace with the audience, and the story more adaptable to the screen. That's why all movies based on books are with screenwriters and screenplays.

For the devotees of the book who keep trashing the movie, I strongly recommend these people to take the time and watch the Special Features section in the movie DVD where the director, the screenwriter, the producers, the actors... talking and explaining about the reasons why the movie the way it is and the difficulties of telling the story from book to the screen. Especially, the part where the screenwriter explains very eloquently and in details why the movie cannot tell the story in the way the book was constructed. Among many, one simple reason is: to tell a story of an over 540-page book via an approximately 100-page screenplay in a movie time-length of 1 hour 40 minutes.

When seeing a movie of this kind (a heartfelt love story), just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show... for what it is and not going in the technical aspects of it (like time-traveling in this case) or making comparison between the book and the movie. Through my own experiences, I have not seen one movie based on a book has come out better than that book (even the famous and timeless "Gone with the Wind"). So, that's a given when going to cinemas seeing films based on books. No need to compare... unnecessary to complain.