Mother (Bong Joon-Ho, 2009)

[Cde.]

Prior to seeing this the only Bong works I'd seen were Memories of Murder and The Host, but I found both of them (particularly the latter) to be incredibly taut genre exercises with some fantastic misdirection that, by their conclusion, managed to hurt me. His latest is no exception.
It's another carnivalesque portrait of a world gone wrong-fools frame fools, almost every character cares about little but serving their own interest-and yet, despite its readiness to risk descending into grotesque caricature, it moved me tremendously.
Definitely one of the highlights of the year.

[Michael Kerpan]

Prior to seeing this the only Bong works I'd seen were Memories of Murder and The Host,

Well, that's 2/3s of his feature film output (prior to his latest). The only other film is the remarkable Barking Dogs Never Bite (my personal favorite of his first three films).

I'm hoping I will get a chance to see Mother some day.

[Cde.]

I guess his short for Tokyo! could also be counted. Maybe?

Once again, Cannes screwed up with regard to a Bong film. Last time it was The Host only reaching Director's Fortnight, and this year Mother was only entered into Un Certain Regard. It's foolish that Park's awkward mess was chosen for the Official Selection over this film, and unbelievable that it managed to receive an award.

[Michael Kerpan]

I guess his short for Tokyo! could also be counted. Maybe?

Once again, Cannes screwed up with regard to a Bong film. Last time it was The Host only reaching Director's Fortnight, and this year Mother was only entered into Un Certain Regard. It's foolish that Park's awkward mess was chosen for the Official Selection over this film, and unbelievable that it managed to receive an award.

Bong's Tokyo! segment counts as a short for me. (On the other hand, ZHANG Yibai's equally short Shanghai segment of About Love strikes me as substantial enough to count as a very short feature film).

I am afraid that there is a much larger Western market for films of the sort made by PARK Chan-wook and KIM Ki-duk than there are for ones by Bong (and HONG Sang-so and IM Sang-soo and HUR Jin-ho and LEE Chang-dong). I find it inconceivable -- yet it remains true.

[brendanjc]

I am afraid that there is a much larger Western market for films of the sort made by PARK Chan-wook and KIM Ki-duk than there are for ones by Bong (and HONG Sang-so and IM Sang-soo and HUR Jin-ho and LEE Chang-dong). I find it inconceivable -- yet it remains true.

I'm not sure that I would claim Bong is underappreciated compared to other Korean directors here in the US. I saw The Host in a regular run at an art-house theater here, not at a film center or festival, and I've seen the Blu-ray version on the shelves at the local Best Buy. Park's vengeance trilogy is probably more popular, or at least Oldboy is, but his last film (the cyborg one) still hasn't gotten a region 1 release. Of course my perception is mostly anecdotal since I haven't seen a film by any of the other directors you mentioned, though I think I have Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring somewhere in my queue.

I hope Mother gets picked up for distribution here in the US, it's one of my most anticipated films releasing this year.

[eljacko]

I think The Host is probably the next step down in terms of foreign film marketing, sitting alongside the KIM Ki-duk films right below Oldboy, largely because of its huge box office draw in Korea and the marketing push (and good reviews) it got here. I don't think Bong is famous, though; director recognition seems only to be bestowed upon PARK Chan-wook and KIM Ki-duk and most other films coming from Korea would be known only by genre or the name itself. Then again, most of the directors Michael Kerpan mentioned haven't had any hits in the US at all.

Either way, The Host felt like a rather big step back from Memories of Murder, which was fantastic and terrifying and is probably one of my favorite films from the country. I didn't know he was making this new film; I haven't seen his first, but how does it compare to these two? Finding the plot synopsis on Wikipedia certainly makes it sound like an interesting movie to see, and I can't think of many recent examples of films where the lead is an old woman.

Michael Kerpan, I think you're the first person I've ever heard mention IM Sang-soo at all outside korean film websites, which is rather depressing because he has some really, really interesting work (A Good Lawyer's Wife is in my top ten) that has absolutely no exposure outside Korea (and no R1 DVD!)

[Michael Kerpan]

My favorite IM Sang-soo film is actually "President's Last Bang" (which reminds me of Z -- but is much better) -- which will definitely be on my 00s list. And I like Old Garden quite a bit (though it might miss making the list). Perhaps appreciating ISS's films require at least a basic familiarity with Korea's history (and society) -- and this is lacking in the West.

Appreciation of Bong's films is enhanced by background knowledge, but these might be able to be enjoyed without a context more than ISS's films can be. (Just guessing)

[colinr0380]

This was the post from Andrew Grant's Filmbrain blog that originally inspired me to track down the Kino DVD of The President's Last Bang, along with a short interview with the director.

[Michael Kerpan]

This was the post from Andrew Grant's Filmbrain blog that originally inspired me to track down the Kino DVD of The President's Last Bang, along with a short interview with the director.

I never even knew there was a Kino DVD -- I got the Korean DVD as soon as it came out (probably a good while before the Kino release).

[Cde.]

Either way, The Host felt like a rather big step back from Memories of Murder, which was fantastic and terrifying and is probably one of my favorite films from the country. I didn't know he was making this new film; I haven't seen his first, but how does it compare to these two?

I didn't find The Host to be much of a step down, if it is one at all. It manages to blend monster movie fun, family drama and bitter political satire, and still managed to leave me feeling depressed!
Those who did, however, are likely to view Mother, lacking as it is more obvious popcorn movie tropes, as something of a return to form.
There are a lot of obvious similarities to Memories of Murder. The setting and characters could have been taken straight from that film's universe, and Bong's direction is also reminiscent of his work on it. Mother throws in faint fantastical elements that align it slightly with The Host, though.
Mother's procedural investigation ends in a very different way to that in Memories of Murder, but it's no less unsettling.
It's too early to say whether its better than any of his other work, but it's certainly on the same level.
'Fantastic and terrifying' is a good assessment. See it if you can.

[zedz]

I enjoyed Mother, but probably enjoyed it the least of Bong's features so far. He's maintained his uneasy and intriguing mixture of registers and tones within solid genre frameworks, and he's trying new things, particularly visually, but I felt that this film unravelled somewhat in the last half hour. Having been primarily a mood and character piece, all of a sudden there's a flurry of plot twists that raise interesting issues about character and theme, but aren't given enough space to breathe or develop (it actually reminded me of the last few episodes of The Wire in that regard). Some people have complained about the film being overlong, but I could have done with an extra 20 minutes or so to ease the gearshift. Sort of related is the resolution of the film - a cute touch and great image, but it seemed to me somewhat ploddingly 'screenwriterly', with its careful set-up and excessive tidiness - and again, there's an interesting implication to it that's almost glossed over:

SpoilerShow

that she employed this same memory-suppressing technique on her son

On the other hand, one very seasoned cinephile I spoke with about it felt that the film 'picked up' towards the end, when it became more plot-focussed and faster moving, but I guess that's down to what sort of film you're looking for.

[Cde.]

Some people have complained about the film being overlong, but I could have done with an extra 20 minutes or so to ease the gearshift. Sort of related is the resolution of the film - a cute touch and great image, but it seemed to me somewhat ploddingly 'screenwriterly', with its careful set-up and excessive tidiness - and again, there's an interesting implication to it that's almost glossed over:

SpoilerShow

that she employed this same memory-suppressing technique on her son

I greatly enjoyed the last half hour of the film, but I can't help but agree about the resolution being overly contrived. The final image was almost enough to make up for that for me, though.

SpoilerShow

Are you implying that the mother used the memory suppression technique on her son before he was initially arrested?

This might be the 'worst' Bong film for me as well, but not by very much. I think it's on the same level as his last two films.

[zedz]

SpoilerShow

Are you implying that the mother used the memory suppression technique on her son before he was initially arrested?

SpoilerShow

No, I was thinking about suppressing her attempted murder / suicide when he was a child - the memory he recovers in prison (yet another last minute twist!). She seems to be quite convinced that the technique works, so she must have attempted it before. There's the further stifled implication here that this incident might have been what led to the son's mental disability - i.e. that the mother ultimately bears the responsibility for everything bad that happens in the film.

[Cde.]

SpoilerShow

Are you implying that the mother used the memory suppression technique on her son before he was initially arrested?

SpoilerShow

No, I was thinking about suppressing her attempted murder / suicide when he was a child - the memory he recovers in prison (yet another last minute twist!). She seems to be quite convinced that the technique works, so she must have attempted it before. There's the further stifled implication here that this incident might have been what led to the son's mental disability - i.e. that the mother ultimately bears the responsibility for everything bad that happens in the film.

That it is interesting and totally glossed over. In the film as it stands, the revelation of

SpoilerShow

the past murder/suicide attempt seems superfluous, other than to portray the mother as somewhat unhinged. The way it's revealed is pretty neat, but it didn't seem to do much for the narrative, which is a shame as it could have added to the moral complexity of the film.

[zedz]

That it is interesting and totally glossed over. In the film as it stands, the revelation of

SpoilerShow

the past murder/suicide attempt seems superfluous, other than to portray the mother as somewhat unhinged. The way it's revealed is pretty neat, but it didn't seem to do much for the narrative, which is a shame as it could have added to the moral complexity of the film.

(Just to take us back out of spoiler land. . .)

This is precisely the issue I have with a lot of what happens in the last half hour: so many implications that could have percolated and enriched the narrative if they'd been given a bit more space. It's an interesting issue, since we can both look back on these elements now and see how they'd add to the complexity of the film and its characters, but there's equally the peculiar sense that this added value doesn't quite belong to the film and might even be inadvertent.

And dipping back into spoilers:

SpoilerShow

Further to what I said above, it now occurs to me that the son's mental problems are often expressed as lack of short-term memory (e.g. forgetting that it wasn't he who kicked the Mercedes mirror), which is entirely consistent with long-term debilitating impact of his mother's treatment (and he recovers his memory of the mirror incident as a prelude to recovering his memory of the attempted murder). Initially, I was thinking that his slowness might have been due to oxygen-deprivation after the poisoning, but maybe we're supposed to make a much more direct link to the acupuncture treatment.

The more we discuss this, the smarter the film seems to get.

[Michael Kerpan]

The more I read about this film, the more I wonder whether Bong could have seen Yoshida's Women in the Mirror.

[fiddlesticks]

Mother has been selected by the Korean Film Council as the country's nominee for the 2010 Foreign Language Academy Award. Among the selection criteria were "the influence of the distributor [and] the reputation of the director;" how Oscar-like. This "reputation of the director" criterion is curious, considering half of the six finalists were debut features by their directors. Mother beat out YANG Ik-joon's festival fave Breathless for the honor. Others considered included PARK Chan-wook's Thirst, the Jury Prize winner at Cannes; LEE Chung-ryoul's Old Partner (the top of my current must-see list, but the available DVD is unsubbed); YOO Ha's A Frozen Flower; and PARK Geon-yong's Lifting King Kong (aka Bronze Medalist).

[lady wakasa]

I am afraid that there is a much larger Western market for films of the sort made by PARK Chan-wook and KIM Ki-duk than there are for ones by Bong (and HONG Sang-so and IM Sang-soo and HUR Jin-ho and LEE Chang-dong). I find it inconceivable -- yet it remains true.

I'm not sure that I would claim Bong is underappreciated compared to other Korean directors here in the US. I saw The Host in a regular run at an art-house theater here, not at a film center or festival, and I've seen the Blu-ray version on the shelves at the local Best Buy. Park's vengeance trilogy is probably more popular, or at least Oldboy is, but his last film (the cyborg one) still hasn't gotten a region 1 release. Of course my perception is mostly anecdotal since I haven't seen a film by any of the other directors you mentioned, though I think I have Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring somewhere in my queue.

How did I miss this thread (besides being busy at my uncinematic job)...

I agree with this. It's been a while since I checked the numbers (probably around the time D Wars came out :shiver:), but I remember The Host having the biggest US box office of any Korean movie at that point. It definitely had the best commercial distribution.

[Michael Kerpan]

Well, I saw the situation with The Host as being pretty much a one-shot deal. So far as I know, Bong has no Western fan-boy contingent (unlike Kim Ki-duk and Park Chan-wook).

[Cde.]

That's definitely true. I also think a lot of people in the West were very disappointed by the turns that The Host takes towards its end.

[Michael Kerpan]

That's definitely true. I also think a lot of people in the West were very disappointed by the turns that The Host takes towards its end.

Anyone familiar with East Asian cinema would not be surprised by the ending, but it certainly is nothing you would expect in a Hollywood film of this sort. ;~}

[Cde.]

Certainly, but I think a lot of fanboys who were convinced to check out the cool new Korean monster movie (but wouldn't normally get excited about a Bong Joon-Ho film or Asian cinema in general) weren't expecting, or ready to accept, the way the film played out.

[Michael Kerpan]

Certainly, but I think a lot of fanboys who were convinced to check out the cool new Korean monster movie (but wouldn't normally get excited about a Bong Joon-Ho film or Asian cinema in general) weren't expecting, or ready to accept, the way the film played out.

Oh, I agree. I think that (sadly) Bong earned lots of _bad_ will with this film.

[knives]

Bad will, really? Maybe it's just the crowds I hang out with, but everyone I know at least enjoyed the Host if not always out right loving it. Also the three or so people I've gotten to see Memories of a Murder love it. Maybe you're overstating the hate.

[zombeaner]

LEE Chung-ryoul's Old Partner (the top of my current must-see list, but the available DVD is unsubbed)

I caught this at a festival screening and it is not Oscar styled. It is a very dry documentary. An excellent film, but not the kind of thing the Academy honors.