Mother (directed by Bong Joon-Ho of The Host)

[pete]

Trailer



this is if Douglas Sirk and Hitchcock gave birth to a Korean baby.

synopsis (from Landmark's website): The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) is a unique murder mystery about a mother's primal love for her son. Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a school girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His mother refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl's killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son's name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations.

Holy shit.  Bong Joon-Ho has done it again.  This is one of the best thrillers I've ever seen.  It features a great hero and delivers an unlikely noir movie that is as twisted and suspenseful as anything you've seen...except the main lead exists in a Douglas Sirk/ Korean melodrama world.  It's a wonderful piece of cinema.

[modage]

Hated-ish this.  I don't know if it's the cultural differences or what.

http://modage.tumblr.com/post/211158207/nyff-mother

[Captain of Industry]

Really deft handling of genre material; the thing I love about Bong Joon-Ho is that he cherishes his characters and invests in them the riches of his films.  This one especially.  His portrayal of the mother is so powerful and consistent that she was able to lead me into unfamiliar territory.  When the plot turns, she's the one who guides me forward.  And the final shot!  The final shot!

He's just miles above his international contemporaries.

[pete]

Hated-ish this.  I don't know if it's the cultural differences or what.

http://modage.tumblr.com/post/211158207/nyff-mother

I don't know what's to not "get" I guess.  and I've actually realized that a lot of really dark movies, thrillers especially - they usually have pretty slapstick moments - maybe dark serious people are less sophisticated with humor?  a movie like Chinatown, as I remember, featured quite a few goofy moments.  I think Mother is the same way, in how it plays suspense against comedy.  but there are a few truly gripping moments and really nice reversals - how one character in one particular scene shows up as a villain but then halfway through, after getting what he wants, turns into a very helpful resource.  it's good old-fashioned suspense.

[md]

Viewing Mother was initially offputting in its pace and tone yet a strangely hypnotic experience.  The last shot ends the film beautifully and has crept into my mind a few times after the initially viewing which has lead me to this post.  
Tonally the film kind of played off as Napoleon Dynamite with very slapstick asian humor at the expense of the young son, until it builds beautifully into something much richer and darker and compliments the first half.  The lead actress must be the Ellen Burstyn of Korean cinema because her performance was very powerful for such an aging delicate woman.  The score and cinematographer are top notch and provide a very surreal experience of viewing the universe of the film.  Some of those extreme wide shots reminded me of a Kurosawa film in that there is so much detail and sharpness to the scenery while dwarfing the character walking through the frame.  Joon-Ho has the ability to create mood and tension so well it reminds me a little of PTA.  His characters live in a world of forced happiness until the dark realities come into play and remind us what is truly important in life.  

The last shot could be summed up by the story Bill Moyer tells at the beginning of the Joseph Campbell special about the western philosopher studying the Japanese shinto priest, "We have no ideology, no theology, we dance".  

[socketlevel]

Hated-ish this.  I don't know if it's the cultural differences or what.

http://modage.tumblr.com/post/211158207/nyff-mother

Wow, I'm totally the opposite, i love all his films. i think he might be my favorite director at the moment. i love his humor. i watched memories of murder based on a review from aintitcool and was hooked ever since. i actually watched the host not knowing it was the same director, and half way through i quickly got on imdb because i knew it must be him.

i was actually talking to my friends about it in the park today because i finally saw mother last night. understanding the tone and humor in the films really comes down to two very similar interrogation scenes. there are a couple in mother that are pretty much directly lifted from memories of murder. in both films these scenes are probably my favorite moments. it's really all in the delivery and framing. both movies have these elements in the scene: a brutish cop character, that while strong, seems bored with his job. but will randomly say something caring to the person (usually mildly retarded kid) they're trying to get a confession out of. meanwhile the head of the investigation has a child like wonder as he asks his very direct questions. also sometimes there is a person in the background doing something random or posing like James dean. it's really quite hysterical. the framing of these scenes is so simple yet effective. it's all this forground, midground, background complimentary stuff that really adds to the physical comedy.

though i will agree it is cultural, because the first time i saw memories i tried to remember where i had seen this technique used before. it suddenly dawned on me, it's an almost exact pitch perfect moment in the animated film Akira. while that film is japanese, it's very similar dry yet exaggerated sense of humor in that interrogation scene. in almost every shot it has people in the background bored, not shitting their pants like any normal human would. flat shots, with very distinct foreground, mid and back separation.



I couldn't find screenshots of the two moments I'm thinking of in memories and mother, but here are some examples of the expressions and framing so you can get an idea:

the first shot is the best illustration, from left to right (child like wonder, brutish cop, mildly retarded kid, james dean)

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/protectedimage.php?image=NoelMegahey/memoriesofmurder2.jpg

http://www.ellensburgfilmfestival.com/assests/images/film_images05/memories_of_murder-1.jpg

http://www.asianmoviepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/memoriesofmurder2.jpg


i strongly suggest renting his films to anyone unfamiliar with this director.

[Stefen]

This is available to stream on Netflix now. Everyone needs to watch it. It shows why Bong Joon-Ho may be a top 10 filmmaker today and could go down as a great. The opening and closing shots are epic. Probably my favorite female performance since Cecilia Roth in Todo Sobre Mi Madre. Some of the humor was a bit awkward and didn't seem to fit with this sort of genre (and could just be cultural differences), but I think overall it worked. I about died laughing when the lawyer doesn't sit down at the buffet and just keeps walking, eating, sampling because he's so important and short on time. Hilarious.

Spoilers.

Maybe I missed it, but why did Jin-tae turn into a villain? One second he's looking out for his boy, but the next he's seemingly robbing his mother. Did I miss a plot point here? Granted, he comes through in the end, but still. Thought that was odd.

I don't know if I like it more than Memories of Murder yet. It's more mature, but I don't know if it's a better film. I need to let it settle. I heart Memories of Murder.

[pete]

spoilers

I think that's what I love about the film was how jin tae showed up at the house for a shakedown, as a villain,  but then right away helps her out.

[socketlevel]

*** SPOILS ***

spoilers

I think that's what I love about the film was how jin tae showed up at the house for a shakedown, as a villain,  but then right away helps her out.

haha ya, but still took the money. great touch.

it's cuz he's a douche stefen, but he's not a fucking douche. he'll rob her but he's also her son's friend, so he'll do what he can to acquit him; especially now that he's in the clear for the murder. if you think about it, that style of humor and character reveals/tone changes are very similar to wes anderson. it's a stretch but they do share some humor sensibilities. Ritter from "the education of charlie banks" is a similar char too, you're scared of him yet see his charm and also see his good side.

[pete]

yeah I don't really understand why people see the sense of humor as so exotic (maybe 'cause I grew up overseas?), I see it in so many thrillers.