Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris
Storyline
A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence -
Mother
Javier Bardem -
Him
Ed Harris -
Man
Michelle Pfeiffer -
Woman
Brian Gleeson -
Younger Brother
Domhnall Gleeson -
Oldest Son
Jovan Adepo -
Cupbearer
Amanda Chiu -
Damsel
Patricia Summersett -
Consoler
Eric Davis -
Bumbler
Raphael Grosz-Harvey -
Philanderer
Emily Hampshire -
Fool
Abraham Aronofsky -
Wanderer
Luis Oliva -
Idler
Stephanie Ng Wan -
Whisperer
Trivia:
According to Aronovsky Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Susan Griffin's 1978 book "Women and Nature" served as inspirations for the film. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
I thought this was worth its salt even though it did tend towards
cliché as it wore on.
The disappointing aspect of this film is that Jennifer Lawrence somehow
portrays an ego that is beyond the character. It's a kind of "you know
that I know I'm only acting this and the real movie is me" that seems
to have perpetuated in every film she had made since Silver linings
Playbook, bar X-Men (when she was covered in paint and having to "live
in" the previous "humble" shoes of Rebecca Romijn) and American Hustle
(where she was greedy White Trash).
She needs a director who can "humble her down", in the same way
Eastwood did for Jolie in Changeling, so that her ego is less of a
distraction for her acting.
Plot
A mother desperately searches for the killer that framed her son for their horrific murder.
Release Year: 2009
Rating: 7.9/10 (9,782 voted)
Critic's Score: 79/100
Director:
Joon-ho Bong
Stars: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin
Storyline A mother lives quietly with her twenty-eight-year-old son, Do-joon, providing herbs and acupuncture to neighbors. One day, a girl is brutally murdered, and Do-joon is charged with the killing. Now, it's his mother's call whether to prove him innocent or to leave him imprisoned.
Writers: Joon-ho Bong, Eun-kyo Park
Cast: Hye-ja Kim
-
Mother
Bin Won
-
Yoon Do-joon
Ku Jin
-
Jin-tae
(as Goo Jin)
Je-mun Yun
-
Je-moon
(as Jae-moon Yoon)
Mi-sun Jun
-
Mi-sun
Sae-Byeok Song
-
Sepaktakraw Detective
(as Sae-beauk Song)
Byoung-Soon Kim
-
Group Leader
Woo-hee Chun
-
Mi-na
Gin-goo Kim
-
Ah-jeong's Grandma
Moo-yeong Yeo
-
Lawyer Kong Seok-ho
(as Ou-hyung Yum)
Young-Suck Lee
-
Elder at Junk Shop
Hee-ra Mun
-
Moon Ah-jeong
(as Hee-ra Moon)
Mi-do Lee
-
Hyung-teo
Young-ki Jung
-
Kkang-ma
Gyu-pil Go
-
Ddung-ddung
(as Kyu-phill Ko)
Trivia:
South Korea's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010.
User Review
No idea this film would end up the way it did (and I'm not telling)
Rating: 10/10
It's too bad that because this film is ostensibly about an old lady it
must be considered a "smaller" film in Bong's oeuvre. It's not. It is
every bit as brilliant, and as large, as Memories of Murder, in my
opinion.
In many ways this is the natural, and equal, follow-up to Memories of
Murder. It's every bit the caper film that one was, and, although
slightly more somber in tone, the film keeps unraveling in directions
you don't expect making it much more a plot driven movie than a
character study. Kim Hye-ja is, however, magnificent as the titular
(gawd I hate that word but I'm using it anyway) mother. There is a
scene in this film where she tells the family of the victim her son
didn't do it and her eyes are so electrically charged it made me jump
back from the screen. Mother fires on all cylinders. The direction,
cinematography, script, and acting are all grade A. It's one of those
films where each of the secondary characters steals the show for a
brief period. (How 'bout that cop who kicks the apple from Won Bin's
mouth?) Bong does a remarkable job of populating the world of this film
with real people and manages to give them depth and development in a
very short period of time. I confess to having a little trouble
tracking the other female characters in the film, but no matter. There
is a scene (without spoiling anything here) where Kim Hye-ja asks the
other 'retarded' kid if he has a mother and it's one of the most
complex and heart-rending scenes in cinematic history. Hyperbole
notwithstanding, just freakin' WOW! on that one when you ponder just
why she is crying.
I wasn't sure where Bong was going to end up going as a film maker.
Barking Dogs Never Bite was a reasonable debut. Memories of Murder, a
masterpiece. But was it a lucky shot? I'm glad I don't have to consider
the dismal Antarctic Journal a Bong film if I don't want to. The Host
was lots-o-fun, but that's the one that worried me. Maybe he was going
to start making blockbuster type films. But now, after recently seeing
his contribution to Tokyo!, and now Mother, I have every reason to
believe he is going to kick my butt with interesting film for a long
time.
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