"She'll stop at nothing," reads the ominous tagline on the poster of Bong Joon-ho's latest cinematic triumph "Mother". I remember seeing Bong's thriller "The Host" (the one filmed documentary-style where a giant octopus threatens a city) and I didn't think much of him as a director; sure, the movie was interesting and thrilling enough, but it didn't make it great or memorable. One year afterwards he turns up with "Mother" and quickly establishes himself among the greatest and most respected of foreign directors. I mean, how can I sufficiently give honor and credit to such an intelligent film? In one year, Bong has managed to mature cinematically and challenge audiences worldwide with a film that's deep, VERY thrilling, intelligent to a tee and indubitably important.
The film's short title and its ominous tagline tells us a bit about the plot: obviously, it's about a mother who'll stop at nothing. Duh. The mother in the film is nameless, perhaps so we can identify with her and her unending quest. Played to perfection by Kim Hye-ja, she's an over-protective, extremely affectionate woman who sells a variety of herbs and medicinal plants and who performs acupuncture to her rich customers on a South Korean city of no name. Her son, Do-joon (Won Bin) is one step away from retarded, mild-mannered and all-around silly; we fail to identify with him at the beginning and go as far as to condemn his passiveness. In his stupidity, he hangs around with a local tough guy named Jin-tae, who's his best friend, and who accompanies him to the local country club to collect stray golf balls whom Do-joon plans to offer as a gift to a girl he likes. From the beginning scenes where a car runs over Do-joon and Jin-tae goads him into wrecking the culprit's car on revenge, we know their friendship is flawed and the latter can do nothing but lead the poor retard on a wrong path.
Well, it so happens that one night Do-joon gets drunk and, as he goes back home to his worrying mother, he follows a girl down a seedy path looking to have sex with her. She ignores him and he returns home, as planned...but on the following morning, the girl is found dead on a rooftop and one of Do-joon's golf balls is found near the scene of the crime. The police guesses he's guilty, they present him with a document where he pleads guilty which the silly Do-joon signs in his naïveté. Having accepted the guilt for the crime, he's imprisoned, much to the rage of his affable mother. She knows him better than anyone and is SURE he's not guilty, but the police won't hear otherwise, and she has no money to entice a lawyer into thoroughly investigating the case. So, like any concerned mother, she starts playing detective around town trying to solve the mystery behind the girl's death so she can acquit her son. But as truth after disturbing truth is uncovered, our protagonist finds that 'she'll stop at nothing' to save her son's freedom.
The film shines. The many technical aspects (such as the muted, ominous score, the perfect editing and the cinematography) aid in making this an interesting experience, but the REAL triumph behind the movie is a) the clever screenplay and b) Kim Hye-ja's flawless acting. First, the plot thickens and thickens to insurmountable depths, and it leaves virtually no plot-holes; it's a well-devised mystery unlike any I've recently seen. And second, Kim's performance of a cunning, methodical, calculating mother truly deserves an Oscar nod. Every second she's on screen she turns up the thrills. We can't help rooting for this enraged mother trying to protect her son, even as the mystery leads her deeper into a web of violence and murder, and the depth she gives to her character alone make the goings-on all the more nerve-shattering.
I can't say more about the plot because I might give away some spoilers, but trust me when I say every single scene, every single character counts, and Bong Joon-ho has gone meticulously through the film to present us one of the most exciting thrillers ever. John Powers from Vogue calls it "darkly funny", and I have to agree. Even though it is a detective thriller, it's enriched with some VERY dark comedy (seasoned with cinematic irony and social commentary) that will have you meditating on the absurd nature of crime scene investigations. Not only does the movie present you with a swell story, but it touches on themes such as crime, prostitution, no-secrets towns, the stupidity of our youngsters and, most importantly, the zealous nature of mothers towards their sons. Few films manage to exact surprised laughs from us at the same time that it keeps us riveted to the edge of our seats, our minds shattered by what we see.
I recently discovered this was South Korea's official entry for the 82nd Academy Awards last year (2009), and I am enraged to see it wasn't nominated in the end. A film of such power and such depth shouldn't be overlooked, and quite frankly, I'm appalled to see films like "Mother" be snubbed from the Oscars (even Italy's excellent film "Vincere" was snubbed and overlooked for other films like Peru's "La Teta Asustada" which, even though it was very interesting, doesn't reach "Mother" or "Vincere"'s height). "Mother" is a film every thriller-lover should watch, and I can assure you it won't be easily forgotten.
Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!
The film's short title and its ominous tagline tells us a bit about the plot: obviously, it's about a mother who'll stop at nothing. Duh. The mother in the film is nameless, perhaps so we can identify with her and her unending quest. Played to perfection by Kim Hye-ja, she's an over-protective, extremely affectionate woman who sells a variety of herbs and medicinal plants and who performs acupuncture to her rich customers on a South Korean city of no name. Her son, Do-joon (Won Bin) is one step away from retarded, mild-mannered and all-around silly; we fail to identify with him at the beginning and go as far as to condemn his passiveness. In his stupidity, he hangs around with a local tough guy named Jin-tae, who's his best friend, and who accompanies him to the local country club to collect stray golf balls whom Do-joon plans to offer as a gift to a girl he likes. From the beginning scenes where a car runs over Do-joon and Jin-tae goads him into wrecking the culprit's car on revenge, we know their friendship is flawed and the latter can do nothing but lead the poor retard on a wrong path.
Well, it so happens that one night Do-joon gets drunk and, as he goes back home to his worrying mother, he follows a girl down a seedy path looking to have sex with her. She ignores him and he returns home, as planned...but on the following morning, the girl is found dead on a rooftop and one of Do-joon's golf balls is found near the scene of the crime. The police guesses he's guilty, they present him with a document where he pleads guilty which the silly Do-joon signs in his naïveté. Having accepted the guilt for the crime, he's imprisoned, much to the rage of his affable mother. She knows him better than anyone and is SURE he's not guilty, but the police won't hear otherwise, and she has no money to entice a lawyer into thoroughly investigating the case. So, like any concerned mother, she starts playing detective around town trying to solve the mystery behind the girl's death so she can acquit her son. But as truth after disturbing truth is uncovered, our protagonist finds that 'she'll stop at nothing' to save her son's freedom.
The film shines. The many technical aspects (such as the muted, ominous score, the perfect editing and the cinematography) aid in making this an interesting experience, but the REAL triumph behind the movie is a) the clever screenplay and b) Kim Hye-ja's flawless acting. First, the plot thickens and thickens to insurmountable depths, and it leaves virtually no plot-holes; it's a well-devised mystery unlike any I've recently seen. And second, Kim's performance of a cunning, methodical, calculating mother truly deserves an Oscar nod. Every second she's on screen she turns up the thrills. We can't help rooting for this enraged mother trying to protect her son, even as the mystery leads her deeper into a web of violence and murder, and the depth she gives to her character alone make the goings-on all the more nerve-shattering.
I can't say more about the plot because I might give away some spoilers, but trust me when I say every single scene, every single character counts, and Bong Joon-ho has gone meticulously through the film to present us one of the most exciting thrillers ever. John Powers from Vogue calls it "darkly funny", and I have to agree. Even though it is a detective thriller, it's enriched with some VERY dark comedy (seasoned with cinematic irony and social commentary) that will have you meditating on the absurd nature of crime scene investigations. Not only does the movie present you with a swell story, but it touches on themes such as crime, prostitution, no-secrets towns, the stupidity of our youngsters and, most importantly, the zealous nature of mothers towards their sons. Few films manage to exact surprised laughs from us at the same time that it keeps us riveted to the edge of our seats, our minds shattered by what we see.
I recently discovered this was South Korea's official entry for the 82nd Academy Awards last year (2009), and I am enraged to see it wasn't nominated in the end. A film of such power and such depth shouldn't be overlooked, and quite frankly, I'm appalled to see films like "Mother" be snubbed from the Oscars (even Italy's excellent film "Vincere" was snubbed and overlooked for other films like Peru's "La Teta Asustada" which, even though it was very interesting, doesn't reach "Mother" or "Vincere"'s height). "Mother" is a film every thriller-lover should watch, and I can assure you it won't be easily forgotten.
Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!