Mother

Director: 

Joon-ho Bong



I don't know what it is about foreign films, especially asian ones, but they NEVER disappoint!  The film's message focuses on how far a mother would go to protect her son and prove his innocence.  If there are any moms out there, how far would you go?  If any of you would go as far, or even farther, than this mother, then you should definitely be applauded for your devotion.  This mother stops at nothing, hence the tagline for the film, and even when she thinks she has solved the case- she discovers even more.

Hye-ja Kim impresses with her motherly role to Do-joon, who is framed for killing Moon Ah-jung.  With him in jail, she sets out on a quest to find the true killer and to expose the police in their lack of investigation skills.  I can't say too much more or else I will ruin the story, but I love how the movie stays suspenseful while hinting at humor along the way.  The opening scene is somewhat confusing; it opens on the mother while she stands in a field of grain but then begins to dance.  I asked myself, isn't this movie supposed to be about a murder?  But, it is amusing to see Hye-ja Kim break it down a little.

There were two pivotal scenes toward the end of the movie that furthered both the plot and the mother's character arch.  My mouth literally dropped because I couldn't believe what I had just seen!

The very final scene is quite comical as you are thrown onto a bus with a bunch of Korean ladies dancing down the aisle.  As the camera slowly zooms in on the mother, sitting alone while the others party it up, we see the worry in her eyes both for her son and herself.  We learn that with her last effort to make things right, sometimes things should be left alone just as they are.