Mother (2010)

Was looking forward to this film after enjoying the director's earlier films, Memories of murder, The host n Snowpiercer. The film is about a mentally challenged kid who is also being overprotected by his single mother who is a specialist in herbs n acupuncture. The kid is arrested n charged with the murder of a young girl but the mother believes he is innocent n she goes out to prove his innocence. The best part about this film is the acting by the lady who played the mother. Another good aspect is the details. When the dead body of the girl is kept on the terrace of a dilapidated house for the whole town to see, we as viewers really wants to know the reason n the reason is explained towards the end well suiting. The direction n cinematography were brilliant. The only problem was the editing. Found it to be a bit slow n long.

1. I am not a professional movie critic/ contemporary cinema connoisseur/cinema-101-millenial-turned-cinema-snob who feels the need to blog on impulse for personal attention. You are not going to find too many protagonist, antagonist, plot, scene mentions on these reviews. 2. My reviews are intended to inspire, (if I may be permitted to use that word) everyday, ordinary people who recourse to popular cinema: domestic and international and might be tired of the same mind numbing, brainwashed, predictable entertainment on our screens today. To inspire them to go and buy, rent or join clubs or associations showcasing such movies, where available, or to at least search for avenues where one can watch cinema for what I like it: art, beautiful storytelling, impeccable acting and lasting memories. 3. My approach is usually "mile wide, inch deep". That being said (very rarely) it might be the other way around "inch wide, mile deep", where I pick on a specific aspect and rave/ rant about the same. If you are looking for an in-depth, comprehensive review, I doubt I could satisfy that vein. 4. My perspective is that of an individual who views the world through limited knowledge of cinema and reading. I am not an extensive traveller, I do not feel the need to be a part of an era or to engage with a specific culture/ sub culture to review it. I take my time to write what I think appears meaningful to me during the course of the movie.5. Inevitably, there will be aspects that I will refer to in the movie that I cannot negate: scenes, specific aspects of plots or personalities. My reviews will always carry a SPOILER ALERT warning. You have been warned!6. I tend to compare different movies that I think are either in the same genre or , in some way, aesthetically connected to the movie I review. You will also have my reasons for why I think this would be an apt comparison. You may not necessarily agree with my reasons for the same, feel free to stop reading at any time.

Wow, what a movie, and what a story! Nothing that Hollywood producers and directors would dare to do. And a long leap and change of pace after the director's previous movie Host.Mother revolves about the investigation carried out by a loving mother to prove the innocence of her mentally-challenged and psychologically-unstable son, who is is jailed for the murder of a teenage girl.Mother is a sad movie. I don't see the comic side as other viewers do. It looks depressing, it is depressing, and has a shocking ending. All the characters lack love, they have gray miserable lives that lead nowhere, they are unable to connect with other human beings in healthy ways despite living in a small town. They seem to have lost their soul somewhere. However, the good performances and the way the director Joon-ho Bong approaches the story, produces a thought-provoking slow-burning psychological thriller with a shocking ending that will make you forget how sad everything is. The biggest lesson you will remind yourself of after watching this movie is that the director makes the movie, not the story or the actors, Joon-ho gives a master lesson of what direction is in Mother.Two main themes are explored in the movie. The first one is that the way we look at the world is filtered by our color lenses, whatever those might be, and the color we see is nothing but a distortion of reality; however, those lenses can be put onto us, to manipulate our view of the world so we see that clearly when we remove them. That is, exactly, what the director does here. We are the mother's eyes until the director comes, knocks on our door and tell us, hey give me those lenses, they are mine. We look at the world and assume things and, truly we know nothing. That is why the movie has two circular anchors; the first anchor is the film opening scene with the mother dancing in a field of grass; the second anchor is almost the same scene but, by then, we have the lenses off, and so does she.The second main theme is clear from the very title - The Mother. The mother we are presented with in this film is not just Do-joon's mother. Most of the comments, scenes and attitudes shown by the character clearly relate to the Archetype of the Great Mother. The archetype relates not only to the relationship that we all have with our mothers, but it is also a repository of values and behaviors we have in our psyche about motherhood in general, in humans and in Nature. Some of the positive traits associated to the Mother Archetype are the power of healing, being a source of nourishment and fertility, being a promoter of personal development and, finally of the independence from her offspring; she is the goddess, the peacemaker, the balance. The negative traits of the mother are her overbearing and controlling nature, her unhealthy attachment to her offspring, her destructive and excessive nature; she is the witch, the mad woman, destruction, the unbalance. Just to show two examples we see the obsession of the mother with the fertility powers or manhood of her son, and she is also a healer (a herbalist and acupuncturist) who works on fertility issues and on healing people. Most of the traits I've mentioned above appear clearly in the character of the mother.The acting is good, contained but believable. Hye-ja Kim is fantastic as Mother, showing different aspects of her character's psyche without crossing the line, i.e. she's not overly dramatic or overly rigid she feels real, with her virtues and defects, ups and downs. Won Bin is also believable as the infantile "retarded" son who doesn't grasp the world.Two things I didn't like in the movie. The first thing is that the movie is a bit too long unnecessarily, with many superficial scenes that add nothing to the character or the story; they are mostly in the first hour of the film. Therefore, the pace and tempo of the movie are uneven, and the film is not as engaging as it could have been. I do love slow burning thrillers, but if something burns for too long, you get ashes. The second thing is the production: the movie looks cheap, as it was set in the 1990s, with a poor cinematography and film quality. I thought if those things had been a bit more artistic, the movie would have been terrific.Overall a really good movie, with a great story and ending, but a bit too long.

Where to start with Mother? During my intense viewing experience I was astounded by Mother's multi-layered narrative where characterisation and plot twists have striking effects.In an unsettling story Madeo (Kim Hye-ja) and her son Do-joon (Won Bin) live in societies' bare margins. She is under pressure to keep her workplace in order while Do-joon clearly suffers mental health problems and easily mislead by his 'friend' Jin-tae (Jin Goo). These factors make the pair looked down upon by their neighbours. If social stigma wasn't enough Do-joon becomes the primary suspect in a local murder case. So begins the catalyst of Mother's multiple layers unfolding.There is no singular viewpoint Mother takes. Instead every character (of significance) has their pros and cons revealed to make one question their motivations. Are social perceptions coming into play? Is there an element of denial covering up the truth? Where does the guilt really lie? Mother is no holds barred experience where perspectives are challenged.As Madeo leads her own investigation into the murder case, more personality traits are revealed. If casting Kim Hye-ja was a conscious choice regarding her small stature, frailty and advanced age during filming then the casting director was correct. Naturally seeing an older woman fight against the odds provides a sense of weakness on her part but Hye-ja's conviction of vulnerability as Madeo is manipulated by Jin-tae into exchanging money to prove Do-joon's innocence lends sympathy towards her plight. Though Madeo's cryptic nature slowly became exposed only emphasising Mother's dynamic narrative.Mother is definitely a note-worthy film for those seeking serious drama and complicated characterisations that provided compelling insights and twists.