30/10/10….Korean melodrama and mystery at Thame Cinema

MOTHER – South Korea 2009, 129 minutes, 15 certificate
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, Starring Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won

HIGHLY acclaimed following its recent cinematic release, Bong Joon-ho’s delectably gripping gem of a film is a psychological thriller and darkly comic take on the police procedural genre.

Hye-ja Kim stars as an ageing single mother, withdrawn and unassuming, eking out a living flogging herbal medicines and practicing as an unregistered acupuncturist in a provincial town. Her survival instinct is prompted by a protective love of her adult son Do-joon, in his late 20’s but with the mental capacity of a young boy, who has been bullied all his life and keeps company with a bad crowd.

In true film-noir tradition, he also suffers from periodic amnesia. One evening Do-joon follows a pretty school girl down a dark alley. He returns home in a confused state, the viewer left uncertain as to what has happened, but when the girl is found dead, Do-joon is charged with her murder. Faced with the inadequacies of a shambolic police force, and the hostility of the locals, Mother must turn fiercely determined detective, going to extreme lengths in an effort to prove her son’s innocence. In the process, she uncovers a significant can-of-worms and becomes an uncomfortable embarrassment to the inept police force. Mischievous and intriguing with just the right balance of mystery and melodrama.

This Saturday 30th October
Doors open 7.30pm Film 8pm. Admission