The Classic
My Tutor Friend
My Little Bride
Windstruck
Love So Divine
A Moment to Remember etc...
.....Yes, I have watched it all! However, a couple of years ago, I got my hands on this dark and noir Korean film called Sleeping Beauty. It is a collection of three short stories that takes place in three different rural towns of South Korea. The three stories are not only aphotic but they leave a splendid impression on the audience who are new to Korean Cinema.
Mother, directed by Bong Joon-ho is a thriller that tells the story of a single Mother,(played by Hye-Ja Kim) who lives with her son, Yoon Do-Joon(played by Bin Won). They live in a small town in South Korea and the Mother earns her bread by selling herbal medicines and performing acupuncture to the village women(without license). Do-Joon, the son is an introvert, socially uncertain, clumsy, careless, quiet and slow. He may seem harmless and you may pity the fellow but one thing that sets his mind ablaze is when people call him a "retard!". Taught by his mother since childhood, to defend himself by beating and fighting with the person who calls him a "retard", Do-Joon, though slightly handicapped, often gets into trouble for petty things due to the bad company he keeps. However he manages to live an almost normal life.
Until one day, a murder takes place in the village. Do-Joo becomes the easy and prime suspect as he is handicapped and unfortunately has no alibi to prove his innocence, after the police find out that he was spotted drunk and following the girl who got murdered, the previous night. When he is unable to remember how he got home and what exactly happened, the police make him sign a confession and get him to admit that he murdered the girl.
The Mother, horrified and troubled, does whatever It takes to free her son and find the killer who framed him. She sneaks into houses, pleas to lawyers and tries to bribe authorities. Hye Ja-Kim gives a wonderful performance of the Mother, a frightened and nervous parent yet undaunted and brave to go to any lengths to get her son back. The portrayal of a Woman, with such mighty strength, in spite of being socially weak and vulnerable is more than empathetic. Your heart will go out to her as she stops at nothing, for the fear of losing her world, her everything, her only son!
The script and the tone of the movie is vividly penetrating. The opening scene of the movie, where the Mother is in an open field, looking lost and demented, as she starts dancing to a dark and arcane beat is so clear and resplendent, that the scene sticks to you even when the movie is over!
Mother opened at the Cannes Film Festival 2009 and won much acclaim and appreciation.It won awards for Best Film, Best Screen Writer and Best Actress at the 4th Asian Film Awards, 2010.
