Synopsis
A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.
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Cast
- Kim Hye-jaMother
- Won BinYoon Do-joon
- Jin GooJin-tae
- Yoon Je-moonJe-moon
- Jeon Mi-seonMi-seon
- Song Sae-byukSepak Takraw Detective
- Lee Young-sukElder at Junk Shop
- Moon Hee-raMoon Ah-jeong
- Chun Woo-heeMi-na
- Kim Byeong-soonPolice Group Leader
Recommendations
- 100
Wall Street Journal
An absolutely phenomenal film by the Korean director Bong Joon-ho. - 100
Salon
Its combination of dazzling cinematic craft, psychological insight and black humor make this one of the year's moviegoing musts -- and even or especially at her most deranged, Kim Hye-ja's amazing mother is profoundly, passionately human. - 91
The A.V. Club
Again as with Bong's earlier films, Mother is a genre exercise that honors convention, yet weaves around it whenever possible. Bong carefully turns Mother into a classic gumshoe tale, with red herrings, interrogations, and moments of sublime suspense. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
A superb murder mystery, with twists coming thick and fast yet always at the right moments. - 90
The New York Times
The hard-pounding heart of Mother, Ms. Kim is a wonderment. Perched on the knife edge between tragedy and comedy, her delivery gives the narrative -- which tends to drift, sometimes beguilingly, sometimes less so -- much of its momentum. - 70
Variety
Key casting is aces, led by a deglammed Kim, forcefully low-key as the mother who seems capable of anything to protect her son. - 70
The New Yorker
The fact that Mother keeps its balance is a tribute to the leading actress. - 70
Village Voice
For all its jarring sound design and herky-jerky pacing, founded on sudden incidents or shocking accidents, Mother is deftly plotted, applying Hitchcockian suspense with a Hitchcockian sense of fair play.
