South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is best known in the States for his 2006 monster movie The Host, which I’m sure many of the Bloglin readers saw and loved. His latest film, Mother, is a polar opposite of The Host and much more like his 2003 film Memories of Murder. All three movies do share Joon-ho’s distinctive black-humor, but I feel like Mother has propelled Joon-ho into the upper echelon of contemporary filmmakers. It begins as a standard wrongly accused murder mystery movie then evolves into absolute genius. The entire third act shook me so much that I just had to sit there for a few minutes and pretend to read the credits.

Dig: Yoon Do-joon lives with his mother – known only as “Mother” and Mrs. Do-joon. The morning after a night of heavy drinking, Yoon is brought in for the murder of an infamously promiscuous girl. Police find one of his possessions at the scene and in their desire to satisfy the public’s need for swift justice, Yoon is fingered as the only possible suspect. But here’s the thing: Yoon is mentally challenged. He has trouble remembering simple things and is as harmless as a feather pillow in a knife fight. In her unflinching maternal devotion, Mother decides to solve the crime herself. But as the the truth behind the murder is unraveled, so are the family secrets.

The film begins with a clever device for introducing the characters: a hit-and-run. This leads up to the night in question, the discovery of the body, and Mother’s search for the truth. Like I said, it’s material we’ve seen before – although the mental handicap tool is played well – but once the third act begins, Joon-ho flexes his depth and the movie is skyrocketed into the genius category (note: he also wrote the film). And you’ll know when this third act begins, trust me. It’s like an alarm going off.

I’m not sure how prominent 68-year-old actress Hye-ja Kim is in Korean cinema, but she’s a fucking force of nature as Mother. The range of convincing emotions she displays is beyond anything I’ve seen in recent memory: desperation, blinding anger, gentle sincerity, and just straight-up loving, over-protective mother. The entire cast is phenomenal, but Kim is honestly a beast.

This movie is going to be haunting me for a long time. I recommend it highly and I also recommend Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder if you haven’t seen that.

During my post-Mother haze, I wandered into Espresso Royale on Gainsborough St. in Boston. If any groggy mopsters are looking for an excellent cafe, check that place out. Their green iced tea is excellent and they have some very kind baristas (that’s Italian for “slaves”).

- Oh Mars