Mother. Directed by Bong Hoon Jo
Mother won 6 awards from 4th Asian Film Awards. The plot is about a middle aged mother who runs a herbal therapy and performs illegal acupuncture. She has an abnormal son (Do-joon)who easily gets into trouble because of his mental condition. Her son is accused to be the murderer who kills high school girl. She finds every ways to prove that her son is innocent even though she might have to commit crime.
Opening scene: Middle aged woman dances alone in the field. CUT TO: The mother chops some herbs while watching her son. In the meantime her son is hit by a car and she accidentally cuts her finger. She runs to see if her son is alright and doesn’t bother her cut at all. She’s OVER protective mom and cares too much about her son. For example, 1. Mother feeds Do-Joon but he puts it back. The son kinda rejects what his mom attempt to do for him. 2. Mother giving him a drink while he’s peeing. Moreover, things that shock viewers is when Do-joon tells his friend that he did really sleep with woman which is his mom. We don’t believe what he says till the scene when he comes home and turns on his mom. The following day Do-joon is accused to be the murderer. His mom doesn’t believe it. She believes that Do-joon’s friend killed the girl. She asks the lawyer to help Do-joon. At the same time, she also has mental problem. She goes to the girl’s funeral and the girl’s cousin attacking her but she sees the illusion that the dead girl slapping her face. The mother finds out that the garbage man might be the murderer so she visits his place by pretending to give him a free treat. The truth reveals when the garbage man is actually the witness who saw Do-joon kills the girl. The next day, Police informs the mother that Do-joon is innocent and caught the real murderer. Mother asks to see the boy and she must be surprised that the boy who was arrested is autistic. The mother instinct in her makes ask him a question. “Do you have mother”…”No” the autistic boy replies. This is the most intense scene ever. It gives the feeling that mothers can do anything to protect their child. Ending sequence is same as the first sequence. The question is why? I think it’s because they want to show how abnormal this character is.
There are so many Korean’s film with cheesy story in the market but this one is beyond. It separates from all those Korean love story.
