Moon Hee-ra (문희라)

Bong Joon-ho's Latest Challenge in 'Mother - 2009'

Source | 2009/07/04 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Kyu Hyun Kim

Kim Hye-ja marvels in an overwhelming thriller

Small country town, Korea. Do-joon (Won Bin, returning to the screen after four years of military service) is a pretty-faced young man, treated as a village idiot and perpetually causing minor havoc with his ne'er-do-well friend Jin-tae (Jin Goo). Do-joon's devoted mother Hye-ja (Kim Hye-ja) is left to clean up the aftermath.

Then one day everyone is stunned to find Do-joon arrested for the murder of a high school girl Ah-jung (Moon Hee-ra). The evidence seems incontrovertible, but Hye-ja launches her own awkward investigation into the murder case, hoping to nab the real culprit. However, everyone in the town, including Hye-ja and Doo-jun themselves, seems to harbor some dark secret, threatened to be uncovered by her sleuthing.

While the film's plot and set-up superficially resemble Bong's based-on-real-life police procedural "Memories of Murder", "Mother - 2009" is even more emotionally shocking and devilishly ...| More