\”Mother\” – English Trailer from Youtube.comWe begin with a field.
We don’t know where this field is, but as we see a middle-aged Korean woman walk through it, we understand that it is going to be a place of importance. It calls to mind Tarkovsky’s buckwheat field of memory in “Mirror,” but in no way does it feel like a thematic retread. This classically beautiful cinematic composition enthralls, and involves audience members in the events that are about to occur. We hear the strum of a classical guitar, and the woman starts to dance. The credits begin to roll, and we are now in the world of “Mother.”
In a film climate where little substance appears to be occurring in the mainstream, it is nice to see a film like “Mother” (Madeo). What viewers are privy to is an incredibly gripping, thematically complex, and beautifully directed thriller by Bong Joon-ho. Now that it has won the 2010 Asian Film Award for best picture, it looks like it has the potential to be a runaway success.
After the international cult success of his 2006 monster movie “The Host,” it was suggested that this Korean director was someone to keep an eye on. With “Mother,” we have proof of this. This is a singular work, with a distinctive style that hopefully will continue to develop in an equally beautiful and groundbreaking manner.
Kim Hye-ja gives an incredible performance as the titular “Mother,” who will do everything in her power to keep her mentally-challenged son Yoon Do-Joon (Won Bin) from being jailed for murder. The film begins with a series of events which lead us to believe that he has been framed. But, of course, there is more to the story than meets the eye. The lengths that this mother goes to in order to save her child will disturb and unsettle some, but also inspire.
This is a film of startling, complex morality. The themes of trauma and catharsis are dealt with in a way that few have approached before. The main character is an unlicensed acupuncturist and prescriber of herbal remedies. The more audience members see her at her work, the more they are able to connect her existence thematically to the story. It is this which makes the film a fully-realized work. By being both a wholly involving narrative and spiritually involved work, “Mother” is a film which has the capacity to both thrill and intellectually engage.
Bong Joon-ho has crafted a work of truly singular vision and effect. “Mother” may occasionally bring to mind echoes of “Vertigo” and “Marnie” due to its treatment of memory and sexual themes, but the very power of these qualities, and the original treatment that Bong Joon-ho brings to them easily pushes “Mother” up to the heights of Hitchcock. One sequence even relies on a tipped-over water bottle for its “hook,” and the nerve-wracking moments it generates in the audience easily ranks with the best sequences of the “Master of Suspense.”
To make an effort to see a movie like “Mother” is to further the creation of great art in the mainstream. We are long past the point where the majority of modern Hollywood filmmakers are making works of depth; those days began to fade with the releases of “Star Wars” and “Jaws,” and they have been dying a slow death ever since. The upside to this is that independent and world cinema has continued to flourish. The Oscar for Best Picture going to “The Hurt Locker” was a good step. The release of “Moon” was another one. Hopefully, “Mother” will be commercially successful, because it definitely deserves the recognition.
Mark Schiffer can be reached at [email protected].
