Canne Film Festival 2009
 

 Synopsis
 Hye-ja is a mother who lives with her only son running a store for medicinal ingredients in town. Her son Do-joon means the world to her. But being mentally disabled at the age of 28, Do-joon often gets into trouble and worries his mother. One day, a girl gets murdered in the village and Do-joon becomes a suspect. Hye-ja does her best to save her son only to find that the police hurry to close the case and the incapable lawyer is interested in nothing but money. She starts to search for the criminal for herself. As her son officially gets charged for the murder, she becomes more desperate.

Program Note
 Mother is the 4th movie directed by the highly acclaimed Korean director Bong Joon-ho. His film credits include Barking Dogs Never Bite, Memories of Murder, and The Host. The title Mother has no embellishment and it is naked to the bone. Also, the words ‘mother’ and ‘murder’ are similar in sound and probably an intended pun. To be a good mother, you need to be a perfect murderer. What else can she be called besides ‘mother’, anyways?

 Hye-ja is trying everything to clear her son Do-joon of a murder charge. She has no one to turn to and no one to rely on; any help from the authority is out of her reach. While she is investigating on her own, she faces the traumas of her past and brand new trauma is added to her present. The love of a mother piles up on the trauma surrounding the murder. At the same time, Mother positions motherless children: Jin-tae, A-jung, Jong-pil (with Down syndrome) around Hye-ja and her son like satellites. These neglected children and their lives on the edge of society contrast with her son. It starts with a solo dance of Hye-ja in the field and ends with a group dance on a tour bus full of middle-aged women. In the last scene, the camera captures Hye-ja’s dancing in the bus after having punctured the needle of oblivion onto her thigh from outside. This scene is the highlight of the entire movie. (KWON Eun-sun)