Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Hye-ja Kim, Won Bin, Goo Jin
Rated R for language, some sexual content, violence and drug use
After re-watching Parasite, I decided to see what else acclaimed director Bong Joon Ho had to offer. I stumbled upon Mother, another film written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. Mother stars Hye-ja Kim as a single mother who cares for her adult son (played by Won Bin). When her son is accused of murdering a schoolgirl , the mother is convinced that her son did not do the crime and is willing to do anything to prove his innocence. This review will have some spoilers, so please view Mother, as it is an excellent film.
To start off, Hye-ja Kim as the mother, who doesn’t have an actual name, does an excellent job portraying a mother who is alone and truly cares for his son. The first scene proves how much she cares for him as he is playing across the street and keeps looking at his son every five seconds while at work. Once Yoon Do-joon is accused of the murder, we see how desperate she gets to prove her son’s innocence. She hires a useless lawyer, tries to badger the cop handling this case, and even breaks into her son’s friend’s house to gather evidence. Her character is almost on the verge on having a breakdown as it seems like she is on this mission alone, at least at first.
The mother is the main character, and whatever she learns, we learn as well. Writers Bong Joon Ho and Eun-kyo Park write a murder mystery of sorts but don’t give us a direct answer of who did the actual murder. We know some of the characters are unreliable as the film shows us. In the first act of the film, Jin Goo, one of Yoon Do-joon’s friend, breaks a car mirror and puts the blame on his friend for the act. So we know that he is unreliable character off the bat. The son is also unreliable as he was drunk during the night the murders were done, so he has little to no memory of that night. The police seem do not care about the case and don’t investigate the murders. Finally, the old man in the third act could be placing the blame on the son so he is not caught, but not too much is known of the old man’s character, so we cannot believe his story.
All of these characters mentioned are unreliable and its hard to tell who is lying and telling the truth. I applaud the writers who don’t tell us who did the murder and basically leave the answer of who committed the murder to the viewer. As mentioned before, what the mother learns, we learn. So in turn, this is a true mystery that is unsolved. In the end of the film, another kid is accused and the son is set free. But considering how little the police care about this case and are willing to accuse anyone, the audience is lead to believe that the wrong person was once again accused and the mother can’t do anything else about this. Earlier in the film, an old man “confirms” that Yoon Do-joon actually did the murders, as he saw the entire thing. But the mother killed the old man to let this secret from going out. So a part of the mother’s mind is convinced that the son actually did the mother and an innocent man is being blamed. The story takes the audience for a ride as you also try to guess what is happening, long after the film is done.
With much admiration I have for the film, there is one minor gripe I have with the film. In one scene, the mother is visiting her son in jail and he brings up the fact that she once tried to kill him and kill herself when he was five. Unfortunately, this scene is comes out of left field and is never even mentioned prior to this scene. Once the scene is over, this is never mentioned again in the film. The only thing I can think of to bring this fact up is that the mother may be a bit crazy. It is proven by the fact she brutally murders an old man and burns down his home. But besides that, this was a random scene that served no purpose at all.
But with that being said, Mother offers a good murder mystery that lets the audience decide who is the culprit. The brilliant screenplay serves as a foundation for the excellent story being told with phenomenal acting. Mother is worth a watch for all film lovers.
3.5/4
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