Mother

I loved the word game during the sex scene. Spa-ghet-ti! A-larm! Ar-ma-dil-lo! I'll have to try that. I also liked. Uhm. Let's see. Every other f-ing scene. This was just about as breathtaking as "Memories of Murder". Joon-ho Bong might be one of the best things since (in no particular order) sliced bread, 70mm film and Wes Anderson. Hye-ja Kim (the titular 'Mother') delivers one of the three or four best female performances of the decade. She's pain, faith, commitment and love personified.

A very effective murder mystery that delves deep into character and carries a lot more emotion than you would expect. Typical of Joon-ho Bong: the cinematography is great, overt and subtle comedy is peppered throughout, and a lot of characters do strange or over-the-top things out of grief. The theme of ignorance, both willful and otherwise is looked at pretty closely. Hye-ja Kim does incredibly well.

The plot takes a lot of interesting turns and finds a compelling Hitchcockian balance of humor, mystery, drama and horror. Hye-ja Kim's is burdened with carrying almost every scene after the first act, and she does an admirable job. I do kind of have a problem with simpleton characters (i.e., the son) as it often becomes a rather cheap plot device (see also: Dancer in the Dark). Other than this, however, I thought the movie was very effective and contains some terrific, inventive moments.

Few directors have ever managed such a command of disparate tones in the same film as Bong seems to with every single one of his. Mother is one of his most twisty and elaborate, with Bong constantly pulling out the rug from under his audience and characters alike as new and shocking developments pile up to the point of near-absurdity.

There is a certain danger that hangs in the air in Mother. Match that with some impressive cinematography and a stellar performance by Hye-ja Kim, and it's a good watch (to say the least). I liked it for its genre-bending quirks, and I wish those aspects were played up more.