60/60 Extra: Mother.

What is this? A foreign film review for a movie not in English? That's so blasphemous, the last time I did that, I had to follow it up with 4 that were in English. Or something like that.

Anyway.

So this movie has apparently become some kind of modern classic or something. Directed by the same guy who did The Host, Mother tells us the story of Yoon Do-joon (Bin Won) and his mother (Hye-ja Kim). Do-joon is a mentally handicapped young man who is arrested for the murder of a girl, and his mother goes out to find out the truth and who really committed this crime. In the process, she finds herself in a circle of conspiracy and shame (not her own... other people's).

This is a very strange movie. It starts off with Mother dancing in a field and then flashes back to the beginning. It took me a while to realize her son was mentally handicapped and not just socially awkward. This is a serious story, but it's mixed with a lot of strangely comedic moments. It wasn't a tone I was expecting going in. There's also an ambiguous undertone of whether or not Mother and her son are a little incestuous or if it's really just innocent and misconstrued discussions.

There is a lot of suspense in the film, though, too. Even from the beginning, I got so nervous with her and the blade as she was chopping (really, anytime she was doing that). And then there were other instances, like Mother hiding in the closet and sneaking out of that house, etc. And then all the times she wants to do her special acupuncture, leading up to the moment at the end...

The mystery of the film was good, and it was really interesting watching her go around trying to figure out what was really going on. Of course, when this major twist happens and you realize what is going on... there's a slight stretch you have to go with, but it works overall. Besides the twist, there were some good, unexpected moments. You find some information out about their personal history, as well as the whole acupuncture bit I already mentioned.

I'll just give a warning not to even look at the imdb comments section prior to seeing the film, because even topic titles will spoil some things. I wasn't spoiled, thankfully, but I just wanted to give a bit of a warning. This movie is hard to talk about without giving things away. If you like mysteries, you'll enjoy this. It's a pretty entertaining movie, and it's very well made. The cinematography is very nice. There's just a bit of a lighter tone than I expected, and it has some strange moments. But overall, it's a pretty dang good flick.


A Keanu 'Whoa'