MOTHER
Film - Retrospective | Bong Joon Ho Filmfest 2019

MOTHER

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Info

Director: Bong Joon Ho
Section: Retrospective | Bong Joon Ho
Country: Republic of Korea
Year: 2009
OT: MADEO
Language: Korean
Version: Original version with English subtitles
Cast: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Jin Gu
12+

Logline

MOTHER

A widow earns her living doing acupuncture and selling herbs, but her life really revolves around her son: she'd do anything for him. Anyone who harms him in any way has to contend with that: the police who arrest him for the murder of a schoolgirl, and the incompetent attorney who simply can't convince anyone of the young man's innocence. Mother has to take charge and rectify what others have bungled. There's enough evidence, and there are enough suspects — the deceased got around, after all. But even Mother has to wonder how far she'll go to protect her son.

Meet the director

MOTHER

Bong Joon Ho

Born in Daegu, South Korea, in 1969, Bong Joon Ho studied psychology at Yonsei University in Seoul before completing a two-year program at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. His first feature film, BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE, about a university lecturer who kidnaps undesirable dogs, was critically acclaimed and shown at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN in 2001. His breakthrough came with his second film, MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003), about a real series of murders. The satirical monster movie THE HOST (2006) and the science-fiction film SNOWPIERCER (2013) with its international cast drew more than nine million moviegoers each in South Korea, placing them both among the 20 most successful films of all time in that country. Bong's latest film, PARASITE (2019), which is showing this year in the CineMasters section at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, was awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.

Credits

Screenplay: Eun-kyo Park, Bong Joon Ho
Director of Photography: Kyung-pyo Hong
Film Editor: Bong Joon Ho, Sae-Kyoung Moon
Composer: Byung-woo Lee
Production Designer: Seong-hie Ryu
Costume Design: Se-yeon Choi
Producer: Woo-sik Seo, Tae-joon Park
Production Company: Barunson
Co-Producer: Yang-kwon Moon, Kathrine Kim
Distributor: MFA+ FilmDistribution e.K.