MOTHER (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)

date watched: May 30, 2009
location: Apgujung CGV, Seoul, South Korea

Most people know Bong through The Host (2006) and his recent participation in the triptych Tokyo! ("Shaking Tokyo," 2008), but he had originally worked as a column writer. His first feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) was not a big success (in fact, it's hard to find this movie in Korea, even online), but it was possible to see that Bong was a good writer.

The same can be said of Mother: it's more a tribute to his skills as a writer, than as a visual artist. Of the New Korean filmmakers, I would say that he is the best writer, and Park Chan-wook is the best visual artist.

The story is of a single mother who lives with her son, who is not particularly bright. One day, Dojun (played by Won Bin) gets drunk, and he tails a high school girl. She hurls at him the one insult Dojun despises hearing--idiot--and in a fit of rage, he hurls something back at her--a rock. Throughout the majority of the film, we are led to believe that Dojun is not the killer. Technically, he is not the type to kill, and everyone knows this. His mother then tries everything in her power to absolve him of this charge, and in the process, it is she who learns more than she bargains for. Her struggles are at times chilling and utterly suspenseful. But the whole thing is in fact a cover for the mother's relentless attempt at absolving her own guilt. In the end, it is not the mother who saves her son. It is he who frees her from her past wrongdoing.



The mother's "tour bus dance" is her way of showing us that she will forget, at least for the time being.

Although I said earlier that Bong isn't the best artist, there were several scenes that proved his bigger steps as a more visual director. For instance, the conversations between the mother and her son in jail are usually accompanied by the infinite regression of mirrors--there really is no end to this battle. One can also glimpse a moment of voyeurism, a favorite fallback theme for filmmakers, not unlike Jeff's peek-a-boo in David Lynch's Blue Velvet.

Bong is seemingly most fascinated with murder, and especially of the theme of "the wrong man." He seems to point out that nobody is innocent, and even if the true culprit is found, there is no victory gained. What begins as a search for the murderer ensues as a tail-chasing game, and you only end up with your hands dirtier.

In this film, the characters use their real names. It must have been rather effective for the actors to get themselves involved. It reminded me of Marco Ferreri's controversial film, La Grande Bouffe (1973), in which Michel Piccoli, Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, and Philippe Noiret used their actual names.

I recently saw him walking in the neighborhood with his wife. He looks like a big teddybear, and seems incapable of writing such mysteries! It goes to show that one cannot tell just by looks alone.