Mother

Name: Mother
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Released: March 12, 2010
Duration: 128 min
Rating: 79
Cast: Bin Won, Hye-ja Kim

2010

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 112 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 112 Ratings

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Mother

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: March 12, 2010 | R

Starring: Bin Won, Hye-ja Kim

Summary: The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) is a unique murder mystery about a mother's primal love for her son. Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night,The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) is a unique murder mystery about a mother's primal love for her son. Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a school girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His mother refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl’s killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son’s name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations. (Magnolia Pictures)… Expand

Director: Joon-ho Bong

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 128 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Joe Morgenstern

An absolutely phenomenal film by the Korean director Bong Joon-ho. Read full review

100

Amy Biancolli

An alluring piece of work, an artful whodunit that melds shrewd plotting with resourceful camera work and sympathetic characters that are fascinatingly, morbidly off. Read full review

Maggie Lee

A superb murder mystery, with twists coming thick and fast yet always at the right moments. Read full review

Andy Klein

Mother is a thriller as well as . . . something else. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Moments of great suspense are sometimes invested with intrinsic humor, moments of trauma can yield great compassion. Often, these seemingly conflicting tones exist all at once, while the oblique mystery never clearly identifies the correct emotion. Read full review

Rick Groen

Mother symbolically doubles as Mother Korea, devoted to her land. But is she blindly and uncritically devoted, too quick to forgive and forget sins that should be redressed, to treat any flaws in the national character as simply intrinsic to the country's nature? Read full review

Joe Neumaier

Though diligently paced and sharp to look at, the mysteries inside Mother are, finally, bloodless. Read full review

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User Reviews

jessetaylor25

Apr 9, 2011

South Korean cinema has always been my favourite. They've produced such gems as "Oldboy", "Samaritan Girl" and "A Tale of Two Sisters" and none of them ever cease to amaze me. Joon-ho Bong's "Mother" reminds me of the Coen Brothers' "Fargo" (one of my all-time favourite films) in many ways.South Korean cinema has always been my favourite. They've produced such gems as "Oldboy", "Samaritan Girl" and "A Tale of Two Sisters" and none of them ever cease to amaze me. Joon-ho Bong's "Mother" reminds me of the Coen Brothers' "Fargo" (one of my all-time favourite films) in many ways. It juggles genres effortlessly and excels in every single one of them. At times, "Mother" is a hair-raising thriller, but at other times it has wonderfully witty comedic tones. At its heart, however, the film is an oddball murder mystery led by an incredibly beautiful performance from South Korean soap opera star Hye-ja Kim. Edited and shot with dynamic precision, "Mother" is not only too gorgeous for words, it's also easily one of the best films of 2010.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

LegitSalt

May 8, 2020

With Mother, Bong Joon Ho delivers another strange genre blend. Mother is a crime movie, but it is also a character study and in parts a psychological thriller. The movie first follows Do-Joon (Won Bin), the mentally challenged young adult son of a single mom (Kim Hye-ja). Do-Joon is easilyWith Mother, Bong Joon Ho delivers another strange genre blend. Mother is a crime movie, but it is also a character study and in parts a psychological thriller. The movie first follows Do-Joon (Won Bin), the mentally challenged young adult son of a single mom (Kim Hye-ja). Do-Joon is easily duped and has the mental capacities of middle to an early high schooler, despite being in his twenties. The narrative shift focus to the mother after Do-Joon is convicted of the murder of a young girl. Shortly before her murder, Do-Joon was drunkenly returning home, vaguely following her, because he liked her. What follows is the epic journey of a single mom, downtrodden by media, society, and the economy, trying to prove her son’s innocence and catch the real culprit. The movie takes this somewhat simple narrative and uses it to explore the faults with the criminal justice system, class warfare, and ableism. Just when the viewer thinks they have caught onto where the movie is going, the movie reveals new details subverting the narrative and tropes. Mother has many things to say, but the most potent of which is a meta-critique given at the last moment. Mother shows the power that enough dedication to a task can have, but it also shows the futility and consequences of the dedication.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Andys_Reviews

Dec 17, 2012

I must say I found this a really great watch! Aside from the many cultural nuances, of which there are many, I found it a riveting tale with some very nice twists. Beautifully shot with a very nice musical score by Byung-woo Lee, I found it easy to follow (despite the inconvenience ofI must say I found this a really great watch! Aside from the many cultural nuances, of which there are many, I found it a riveting tale with some very nice twists. Beautifully shot with a very nice musical score by Byung-woo Lee, I found it easy to follow (despite the inconvenience of subtitles). All the performances were excellent but I must pull out Hye-ja Kim for her tremendous portrayal of this driven woman, a great piece of work! Over all, it… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Meth-dude

Jul 1, 2019

Supported by amazing acting performances, a good soundtrack, beautiful cinematography and an interesting story that keeps you guessing until the gut wrenching finale, Mother deserves to be seen.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Film_Fanatic_15

Nov 23, 2010

People can call this a thriller all they want, but they should title the movie "Courageous Mother". You find a mother's son, accused of murder, when in fact the police have very little evidence that proves he did it. The movie show's you the events that leads up to the murder of the poorPeople can call this a thriller all they want, but they should title the movie "Courageous Mother". You find a mother's son, accused of murder, when in fact the police have very little evidence that proves he did it. The movie show's you the events that leads up to the murder of the poor little girl, but doesn't give you much to go off of. The mother desperately tries to tell the police that he is innocent, and soon she does find out the clues to the murder. It's brilliant: The cast and the plot. It doesn't amount to much in the end, but you would need to sit through the 2 hours in order to fully understand it isn't just another crime drama, because the movie is more of a drama than an actual Dan Brown thriller.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Deanomite

Jan 21, 2020

Bong Joon Ho has arguably the best film of 2019-Parasite. I like Okja the best so far. This is nicely photographed and acted. There are a lot of movies and shows lately, if it is not engaging halfway through i quit. made it halfway.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Broyax

Jul 23, 2020

C'est une mère-poule névropathe aux 400 coups pour son rejeton carrément débile sur les bords (et au milieu) qui se retrouve au très grand insu de son plein gré mêlé à une histoire de meurtre... Complètement à côté de ses pompes, ce jeune rain man dort avec sa maman (sic !) et son "meilleur"C'est une mère-poule névropathe aux 400 coups pour son rejeton carrément débile sur les bords (et au milieu) qui se retrouve au très grand insu de son plein gré mêlé à une histoire de meurtre... Complètement à côté de ses pompes, ce jeune rain man dort avec sa maman (sic !) et son "meilleur" pote est un petit loubard à la petite semaine.

Partant de là, ce merdier dramatico-psycho-social est délayé sur deux plombes qui semblent en durer six... je ne sais pas sur quoi ça débouche parce que je me suis endormi et que j'ai tiré la chasse. A noter que c'est fréquemment filmé caméra à l'épaule, ce qui file la nausée et le mal de mer(de). De ce que j'ai vu, la maman paniquée plutôt toquée et frappadingue met tout en oeuvre pour aider son fils mongolo... mais de toute façon, on a déjà zappé cette daube coréenne, cela va sans dire !… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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43	#43 Best Movie of 2010
36	#36 Most Shared Movie of 2010