Mother

Composite Score: 82.47

Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Je-mun Yoon, Hee-ra Mun, Woo-hee Chun, Moo-yeong Yeo, Mi-seon Jeon and Yeong-seok Lee

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Writers: Bong Joon Ho and Eun-kyo Park

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R for language, some sexual content, violence, and drug use

Box Office: $17.27 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                Mother is Bong Joon Ho’s film about a local apothecary/acupuncturist whose son is accused of murder in what appears to be an open and shut case and her efforts to clear his name and prove his innocence. It features a powerful performance from Hye-ja Kim as the titular mother as she navigates the worlds of police investigation, poverty, and high school drama in her quest to free her son. The film’s story is brilliantly crafted and leaves the audience guessing up to the end. The twists of the story and its ultimate conclusion will stick with anyone who watches it for quite some time. Critiques of the justice system and society’s treatment of women and the mentally disabled lend even more weight to an already great film. This is definitely one worth checking out.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                If you really dislike moral ambiguity in films, this is not at all the film for you. There is no character that is fully untainted by the world they live in, and along with their flaws, most of the characters have redeeming qualities as well. This is a film that deals heavily with the complexities of criminal investigations and poverty and mental disabilities and the interplay of all these things as well. It does not seek to give its audience angelic heroes without blemish, nor does it provide clear-cut villains without an ounce of good in them. By the end of the film, even people who are okay with and enjoy moral ambiguity will be left with a sense of unease about basically everyone in the film. It makes for a fun investigative mystery, but not the most straightforward good vs. evil fight that some might look for in such films.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                Mother is a film chock-full of high-quality performances, headlined by Hye-ja Kim’s leading performance. In support, Won Bin as her son Do-joon delivers a solid performance, as does Jin Goo as his friend Jin-tae. Won Bin’s Do-joon is lovable enough to convince the audience that he is deserving of freedom but also troubled enough to warrant the suspicion about his actions on the night of the murder. In the same vein, Jin Goo’s Jin-tae comes across as skeevy enough to frame his friend for murder but also loyal and cunning enough to know better. Their performances keep the story moving and engaging throughout, but it is Hye-ja Kim’s mother that carries the film. Her emotional and emotive performance grips the audience from start to finish as she reacts with increasing severity to each new hardship that she is forced to face on the journey to justice. From the eerie first shots of the film where she dances alone out in a field to the hauntingly chaotic final images of her dancing with other parents on a bus, she brings every bit of her acting skill to bear as this film’s lead. It is an impressive performance that makes the film’s compelling story that much more enjoyable.

                In terms of story, this mystery thriller has it all – twists, suspense, murder, romance, comedy – and it is all done well, adding more to the story as it progresses. Without spoiling too much, I will say that the reveals and plot twists never feel unearned or unreasoned. The film does a good job of showing its audience just as much as it needs to keep them engaged without giving the whole thing away until it’s absolutely necessary. Even the more graphic parts of the film’s story never feel too over-the-top or out of place, never presenting gratuitous sex or violence, rather presenting everything for a reason, as clues or character moments instead of events in and of themselves. It’s a beautifully told story that fluctuates back and forth between calm suspense and intensely emotional chaos, keeping the audience’s attention through both the ebb and the flow.

                A beautifully told and well-acted mystery thriller about justice that also engages with social issues of mental health, poverty, and the treatment of women, Mother exhibits everything you could ask of one of the Greatest Films of All Time. Though some might take issue with the film’s lack of moral clarity for its characters, the story it tells would be greatly diminished if that moral ambiguity was given up. One of Bong Joon Ho’s earlier works, this is sure to be a film that sticks with you. It is currently available to stream in many places, including Amazon Prime Video. Check it out if you have the chance.