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Bin Won, Hye-ja Kim, Ku Jin

A mother desperately searches for the killer that framed her son for their horrific murder.

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85% liked it

302 ratings

Unrated, 2 hrs. 8 min.

Directed by: Joon-ho Bong

Release Date: May 16, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (88)

  • mrpopcorn
    November 18, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "Your son has such beautiful eyes, like a baby deer."

    A mother desperately searches for the killer that framed her son for their horrific murder.

    REVIEW

    This marvelous and intelligent psycholog...( read more)ical murder mystery from Korea is about a young man who appears to be somewhat mentally challenged who is accused of murdering a teenage school girl in a village in South Korea. His mom, in a fairly stellar performance by Kim Hye-ja, sets out to prove his innocence by doing detective work, as the police think its an open and shut case. What makes this film stand alone is its tenacity. It doesn't let you go, it keeps on trying in the form of the mother attempting to follow every trail. Its a great premise and you are kept guessing throughout. You may be slightly put off by the unusually close nature of the relationship between mother and son, but director Bong Joon-ho, who is probably on the short list of excellent contemporary directors from Asia, keeps the main focus on the core story, the mystery.

    Mother is a far more restrained and thoughtful film from Joon-ho Bong, better known for his over the top horror films like The Host. With its careful development of suspense and sly injections of humour, this outstanding psychological thriller is reminiscent of vintage Hitchcock (Rear Window, Vertigo, etc). At first it is hard to warm to Kim's character, but as the film progresses audiences begin to sympathise with this unusual heroine and her obsession. Highly recommended.
  • her69eyes
    October 31, 2009
    her69eyes
    Coming off of his hugely commercial and critical success, "The Host", acclaimed Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho brought his latest, "Mother", to the Cannes film festival last May. Although, to the surprise of many, the film didn't compete in Cannes' main competition, it has been su...( read more)bmitted as Korean's representative in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this year's Academy Awards.

    Do-jun (Weon Bin) is a 27-year-old simpleton living with his mother, Hye-ja (Kim Hye-ja). One day, after being the victim of a hit-and-run accident, Do-jun and his friend, Jin-tae (Jin Gu), pursue the perpetrators at a golf course. Do-jun gets his revenge, but the next day brings a horrific surprise - a beautiful young girl, Ah-jung (Moon Hee-ra), has been found dead, and Do-jun, who had met her the previous night at a bar, was the last person seen with her. Worse yet, a golf ball with his name written across it was found near the body. Do-jun is convicted, and Hye-ja is determined to prove her son's innocence.

    Kim Hye-ja, having often played prolific maternal figures on television, is a major star in Korea. She's the country's ultimate symbol of parental love and sacrifice. In "Mother", her understated performance as a one-woman task force commands the screen.

    "The Host" was an amalgamation of genre: a family drama, a monster movie, a dark comedy, and so on. "Mother", too, has an ever-shifting tone. I didn't find it as successful here, however, as the film's comedy undermines the intensity of the mother's pursuit. The film's last act, intricately woven with a series of surprises, pushes the plot a little too far and begins feeling overly-melodramatic in what was otherwise a small, gritty film.

    Joon-ho makes terrific use of a small South Korean town, fully incorporating rooftops and cellars alike into every inch of the picture. Hye-ja's performance is memorable, an unlikely hero who can share a range of emotions with us with the twitch of an eyebrow.

    "Mother"'s struggle to find a tone risks alienating the audience, but it's nevertheless a well-made noir. Joon-ho may have not lived up to his previous efforts like "Memories of Murder" or "The Host", but he further solidifies himself as one of the most consistent and exciting directors working today.
  • columbiatch
    October 14, 2009
    columbiatch
    If Imamura made a genre film it would be something like this. Kim Hye-ja is terrific as the mother in the title, who is a great deal more interesting than the murder at the center of the story.
  • sitenoise
    October 6, 2009
    sitenoise
    In many ways this is a natural, and equal, followup to "Memories of Murder". It's every bit the 'caper' film that one was, and, although slightly more somber in tone, the film keeps unraveling in directions you don't expect making it much more a plot driven movie than a character...( read more) study. Kim Hye-ja is magnificent as the mother. There is a scene in this film where she tells the family of the victim her son didn't do it and her eyes are so electrically charged it made me jump back from the screen. This film fires on all cylinders. The direction, cinematography, script, and acting are all grade A. It's one of those films where each of the secondary characters steals the show for a brief period. Bong Joon-ho does a remarkable job of populating the world of the film with real people and manages to give them depth and development in a very short period of time. It's too bad that because this film is ostensibly about an old lady it must be considered a 'smaller' film in his oeuvre. It's not. It is every bit as brilliant, and as large, as "Memories of Murder".

    sitenoise at the movies: Mother (Madeo)
  • kiriyamakazou
    July 3, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Mother is yet another fantastic piece of cinema from Bong. He takes a very simple and familiar plot (as he has done before) and intricately threads subtle nuances of powerful emotions and themes amongst the more predictable moments. Mother is a grim and compelling watch that punc...( read more)hes humanity in the balls. It evaluates a mother's love and how far she will go to defend her young. The comedy is typical Bong. Very odd and very awkward. A lot of laughs are quickly followed by a saddening moment where you realize you probably shouldn't have laughed. The violence is handled with absolute confidence, being shocking, unexpected but never graphic. It's a haunting film, one that gradually evolves in your mind after you have seen it. Beautifully shot in terms of lighting, composition and length, Mother is a film that is deceptively plain at first.
  • ZlatkoGR
    November 24, 2009
    ZlatkoGR
    Succeeded in so many different genres with The Host, Bong Joon-ho tries to surpass his previous movie with Mother. And he fails. But don't get me wrong. This is a great movie too. It's just that The Host was such a different and exceptional piece of cinema that everything else se...( read more)ems less important. Bong truly is a master of direction, taking a common subject and delivering
    something powerful like this movie...
  • mdavidct
    November 13, 2009
    mdavidct
    great movie i like how the story is the most important thing in korean movies.
  • dipa89
    October 27, 2009
    dipa89

  • RThornhill
    October 22, 2009
    RThornhill
    recommended by kunam88
  • jschartrand
    October 18, 2009
    jschartrand
    Changeling meets Bong Joon-Ho's mind. Master of direction, help with afantastic cast, he delivers the thrill and a somptuous story beautifully filmed with a cult opening and ending.

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