Directed by Joon-ho Bong
Written by Eun-kyo Park & Joon-ho Bong
Mother is the type of film I was only able to seek out and watch because of word of mouth, and hopefully this review can do the same for you. It is a South Korean film by director Joon-ho Bong and, essentially, is a crime drama. The story centers around an older woman, who is the mother of mentally challenged young man charged with the murder of a school girl. The murder came as a shock to the small town, which had not seen something like this is a very long time. So when the young man proclaims his innocence, yet has no alibi and all signs point to him, his mother must take the investigation into her own hands and find the man who killed this innocent little girl. To be certain, there are one or two things that don’t pan out.
I came into the film knowing nothing of what it was about or what to expect. As a result I was handed a well made, interesting film. The investigation aspect of the film is complimented quite well with the story of the relationship of the boy and his mother, which is unorthodox and becomes even more complex after a nice twist. I have never had a good eye for performances in foreign language films, always having to focus of the dialogue to much in order to follow the story, but everything seems to be in order here. And I can even say that Hye-ja Kim, who plays the Mother, has gotten some recognition for her performance from others. The film did not change the way I view crime dramas, or family dramas, or any type of cinema. It is not groundbreaking. But Joon-ho Bong crafts a very nice, interesting, thrilling and intriguing mystery.
Corndog Chats 