Mother
12 October 2023
Director: Bong Joon-ho
See
Her: Mother (2009) is a story of the unnamed single mother who lives and breathes her son Yoon Do-joon. When he is imprisoned for the murder of a local teenage girl Moon Ah-jung with our proper investigation by the police, Mother decides to conduct her own private investigation to find the real murderer. The truth she discovers is unsettling and so she decides to bury it by killing the only witness and curing her own pangs of conscience by acupuncture.
Him: Kim Hye-ja plays the mother of Do-joon (Won Bin) a hapless mentally impaired young man she’s overly protective of. He repeatedly finds himself in predicaments, the latest is being charged with the murder of a school girl.
Think
Her: There is nothing new about the plot but apart from that, everything else in this movie is very different. Because I haven’t really seen many other Korean movies, I don’t want to say that this is Korean style, although Bong Joon-ho has been recognised as one of the brightest examples of it. He’s got a very distinct style with its elements including cinematography, multiple plot twists, a very unique, not classic American way of creating suspense, somewhat unstable characters and of course, traditional asian cultural elements.
Him: Bong Joon-ho pin points the mother’s acupuncture needles expertly, from the simplest moments like her chopping traditional herbs while being distracted as the guillotine gets closer to her fingers, to the explosive reactions of concern for her son’s well being. The tension peaks with her sneaking out of the wardrobe of her son’s friend while trying not to wake him.
Feel
Her: I wasn’t sure how I felt about this film until the Mother showed her real obsessive nature and killed the garbage collector. Until then, her character was incomplete. The character development is what Bong Joon-ho does really well, which enables him to turn the plot upside down without it feeling forced or artificial. To be fair, it's worth mentioning that acting is also worth a mention. Won Bin and Kim Hye-ja are both great and natural in performing their complicated characters. The list goes on but it's time to wrap up.
Him: Seeing people with mental deficiencies on screen is a push/pull compassion and aversion. Why is it so affecting for me? Seeing how they can’t be controlled or control themselves is a surrogate for not being able to fit into society's expectations. Something we can all relate to. Once again I’m surprised by how a South Korean story is a bait-and-switch for a crime mystery and how it draws me in when it’s not formulaic.
