Anyone who allows themselves to be whipped up by the exciting amalgamation of monster film, political satire and family drama in The Host (2006) will be eagerly looking forward to the new film by the versatile Korean talent Bong Joon-Ho. Mother is a dislocating drama about a protective mother who goes through thick and thin to prove that her mentally handicapped son is wrongly suspected of murdering a teenage girl.
Bong gives an unexpected turn to the thriller formula, opening all the registers between light and dark and targeting a penetrating portrayal of loneliness and the dark side of the maternal instinct. The film was an enormous hit in South Korea, partly thanks to the breathtaking portrayal of the mother by Kim Hye-Ja, a very popular TV star who thanks to Bong was now allowed to play something very different.
Film details
- Country of production
- South Korea
- Year
- 2009
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2010
- Length
- 129'
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
