Mother

Mother

Synopsis

South Korea’s official submission to the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. A widowed mother lives alone with her only son, Do-joon. He’s 28 years old, a shy and quiet young man. In the aftermath of a terrible murder, the woman’s son becomes the prime suspect. There’s no real evidence against him, but the police zero in on him simply because he can’t prove his innocence. Eager to close the case, the police arrest the boy. His defense attorney turns out to be incompetent and unreliable, making a conviction seem inevitable. Faced with no other choice, his mother gets involved, determined to prove her son’s innocence.

Official Site: www.mother2009.co.kr

Singapore Release Date: 31st December 2009, Thursday

Running Time: 128 minutes

Ratings: G

Genre: Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Cast: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin

Crew: Director (Bong Joon-ho), Producer (Choi Jae-won, Seo Woo-sik), Writers (Bong Joon-ho, Park Eun-kyo), Music (Lee Byung-woo), Cinematography (Hong Kyeong-pyo)

The Trailer

The Review

This movie tells a story of an overly-protective mother of her somewhat retarded kid, who got embroiled in a murder, with him being the main suspect.

Although such murder mystery films is nothing original, the movie give a slight unique perspective from a mother’s point of view.

Kim Hye-Ja who played the mother was outstanding, taking matters into her own hands, trying to clear the name of her son.

It’s a pretty straightforward movie which explores justice and class; different from the many Korean sappy flicks, and I’m glad the director Bong Joon-Ho went in that direction.

The Good

• Move has good twists
• Excellent acting all-around

The Bad

• Slow first half
• The dark movie overtone might scare some

Editor’s Ratings