Following the smash success of his 2006 film The Host, Korean sensation Bong Joon-ho returns with a stylish thriller that is both detective story and psychological horror Pushing past the bounds of conventional film noir, Mother shows Bong refining his talent for popular entertainment even as he crafts a new grammar of imagery to depict his disturbing yet always thought-provoking ideas.
Kim Hye-ja plays the mother of a grown son with a slight mental disability. Childlike and slow to think through consequences, Do-joon (Won Bin) has grown up under the fierce protection of his mother's formidable love. Never one to participate in the intrigues of their small town, she lives a quiet life as a traditional healer, providing herbs and acupuncture to neighbours while looking after her son.
Ah-jung is a pretty young student who seems to be the unfortunate guardian of the town's worst secrets – reminiscent of Laura Palmer from David Lynch's Twin Peaks. When she is brutally murdered and Do-joon is accused of the killing, it's up to his mother to get him out of jail and prove his innocence.
Kim's performance as the mother is both magnificent and, for Korean audiences, shocking. The legendary actress has dominated Korean small screens for over thirty years, portraying one devoted mother after another on a series of successful television programmes. She has become her country's maternal archetype, an ideal of sacrifice and unconditional love that Bong turns to dark and brilliant effect.
And so when the story poses the question of how far a mother would go to protect her son, all options are open. But solving the murder is not necessarily the heart of Mother. Instead, the film probes deeper and deeper into the cruelty, falsities and contempt of its small town. Peppered with savage humour, the circular narration of Mother is elegantly coloured with visually engaging, carefully composed scenes. This serene beauty contrasts powerfully with the ferocious emotion of one extraordinary mother.
Giovanna Fulvi
Bong Joon-ho was born in Daegu, South Korea, and studied at the Korean Academy of Film Arts, where he directed his short graduation film,
Incoherence (95). He made the short films
White Man (94) and
Memories in My Frame (94) before directing his first feature film,
Barking Dogs Never Bite (01). His next two features,
Memories of Murder (03) and
The Host (06), both screened at the Festival.
Mother (09) is his fourth feature film.