[Our thanks to Teresa Nieman for the following review.]
The opening scene of Bong Joon-ho's Mother is playful, funny and weirdly inviting as pint-sized dynamo (or, if you prefer, revered veteran actress) Kim Hye-ja performs an awkward solo dance in a wheat field. Later on, when the events leading up to this moment are revealed and everything comes full circle, this scene is colored in a much more sinister, twisted light. And that, in a nutshell, is what makes the entire movie so enthralling. It works magnificently as a modern whodunnit, with plenty of red herrings, cover-ups, and double crossings. It has enough dark humor to keep things from getting too heavy, and it features what is easily one of the year's best performances in the title character.
Most people are familiar with the stereotype of Asian--and especially Korean--mothers being overbearing forces in their child's lives well into adulthood, always pushing them and babying them at the same time. Bong delights in exploiting that stereotype here to sometimes comedic, sometimes terrifying effect, and actress Kim is game for anything. Whether it's a dramatic, eardrum-piercing scream out of nowhere, or a plastered-on smile intended to hide her true intentions, this mother runs the gamut of emotions; always seeming frazzled, urgent, and on the verge of snapping. Whether she does or not, I'll leave for you to discover.
Bong wastes no time kicking off the story, with Kim's onscreen (and mentally slow) son landing in prison under a murder charge he denies committing. As you can imagine, mama throws a fit about this, and vows to find the "real" killer in order to prove his innocence and get him back home where he belongs. She catapults herself head-first into her own little investigation, and believe me when I say she will go to any lengths to save her boy.
The central relationship is ingeniously designed. At first we scoff at them, and enjoy laughing at their inappropriate behaviour (they share a bed, and at one point she watches as he pees, as if to make sure he's doing it right). Then we grow to root for them, despite their flaws and general kookiness, because no innocent man deserves to be locked up just because he was probably breastfed until the age of 12 and happens to be two or three steps behind the rest of us. Then, everything is turned on its head, and we're back to square one of not knowing what to think of anyone. It's marvelously disorienting without ever being confusing or frustrating.
As much credit as Kim deserves, this wouldn't be good by default because of the performance alone. Bong has injected it with a ferocious intensity that you wouldn't expect from a movie that's cracking jokes 80% of the time, and it really catches you off guard when the static currents running throughout the movie finally explode. As I mentioned before with regards to the opening scene, the things that happen as Mother unfolds very much change the way you view what preceded them, and by the ending the whole thing has mutated into a completely different beast. Something tells me that this would be even more rewarding to see a second time around.
I regretfully haven't seen Memories of Murder yet, but I adored Bong's genre mashup critical/monetary hit, The Host, and I'm glad to know that it wasn't a fluke. He's officially a real talent, and he's as exciting and invigorating to Korean cinema as Park Chan-wook was a few years ago when Oldboy came out. I can't wait to see what he does next.
Review by Teresa Nieman
The opening scene of Bong Joon-ho's Mother is playful, funny and weirdly inviting as pint-sized dynamo (or, if you prefer, revered veteran actress) Kim Hye-ja performs an awkward solo dance in a wheat field. Later on, when the events leading up to this moment are revealed and everything comes full circle, this scene is colored in a much more sinister, twisted light. And that, in a nutshell, is what makes the entire movie so enthralling. It works magnificently as a modern whodunnit, with plenty of red herrings, cover-ups, and double crossings. It has enough dark humor to keep things from getting too heavy, and it features what is easily one of the year's best performances in the title character.
Most people are familiar with the stereotype of Asian--and especially Korean--mothers being overbearing forces in their child's lives well into adulthood, always pushing them and babying them at the same time. Bong delights in exploiting that stereotype here to sometimes comedic, sometimes terrifying effect, and actress Kim is game for anything. Whether it's a dramatic, eardrum-piercing scream out of nowhere, or a plastered-on smile intended to hide her true intentions, this mother runs the gamut of emotions; always seeming frazzled, urgent, and on the verge of snapping. Whether she does or not, I'll leave for you to discover.
Bong wastes no time kicking off the story, with Kim's onscreen (and mentally slow) son landing in prison under a murder charge he denies committing. As you can imagine, mama throws a fit about this, and vows to find the "real" killer in order to prove his innocence and get him back home where he belongs. She catapults herself head-first into her own little investigation, and believe me when I say she will go to any lengths to save her boy.
The central relationship is ingeniously designed. At first we scoff at them, and enjoy laughing at their inappropriate behaviour (they share a bed, and at one point she watches as he pees, as if to make sure he's doing it right). Then we grow to root for them, despite their flaws and general kookiness, because no innocent man deserves to be locked up just because he was probably breastfed until the age of 12 and happens to be two or three steps behind the rest of us. Then, everything is turned on its head, and we're back to square one of not knowing what to think of anyone. It's marvelously disorienting without ever being confusing or frustrating.
As much credit as Kim deserves, this wouldn't be good by default because of the performance alone. Bong has injected it with a ferocious intensity that you wouldn't expect from a movie that's cracking jokes 80% of the time, and it really catches you off guard when the static currents running throughout the movie finally explode. As I mentioned before with regards to the opening scene, the things that happen as Mother unfolds very much change the way you view what preceded them, and by the ending the whole thing has mutated into a completely different beast. Something tells me that this would be even more rewarding to see a second time around.
I regretfully haven't seen Memories of Murder yet, but I adored Bong's genre mashup critical/monetary hit, The Host, and I'm glad to know that it wasn't a fluke. He's officially a real talent, and he's as exciting and invigorating to Korean cinema as Park Chan-wook was a few years ago when Oldboy came out. I can't wait to see what he does next.
Review by Teresa Nieman
Sigh, I hope I'm just tired and grumpy and this hasn't actually been spoiled.
"and on the verge of snapping. Whether she does or not, I'll leave for you to discover.
So she does, otherwise why would you mention it?
"under a murder charge he denies committing. As you can imagine, mama throws a fit about this, and vows to find the "real" killer "
So he actually is guilty, otherwise why put "real" in quotes?
"Then, everything is turned on its head,"
"Something tells me that this would be even more rewarding to see a second time around."
Well, I guess my first time can count as my second.
Most synopsis' mention that she's convinced her son's friend is the "real" killer, and I use quote because those are words from her, in the movie. Nothing is spoiled, I promise!