MOTHER, *** 1/2 (2009)
A distraught mother, upon finding that her mentally retarded son has been accused of murder, goes all out and attempts to uncover the facts behind the accusations. While the premise of this film seems to initially promise a lot more than what it eventually delivers, it is a solid effort that really shines mostly due to the amazing acting of Kim Hye-ja, who plays the titular character. Her range is truly magnificent, running the gamut as she expresses genuine sadness, comedic relief, and relentless conviction with an ease of effort that seems inexplicable. Sadly, this is also where the movie falters, as it never really seems to make up its mind about what kind of film it is actually trying to be in the long run. Initially, the film is almost a comedy as you learn of the strange relationship between the mother and the son (as well as his no-good but street smart "best friend"). In the middle, it becomes a fairly standard mystery movie, while the ending turns into a drama with tragic consequences. Even though it is uneven, there is a graceful beauty to the entire film's rather low-key presentation, not to mention a strange bittersweet optimism that ultimately tries to prevail over the rest of the film's utterly depressing subject matter.
In its own rights, this film is amazing, but as a debut movie, it is simply staggering. Considering the bevy of commercial filmmakers around the globe who have been in the game for years and still have yet to create something that is as powerful and dynamic, this movie has now become my personal litmus test for debunking any up and coming "hype-proof" film debuts. The set up is something like a classic 70s thriller: an ex-cop turned pimp (Kim Yoon-seok) begins to notice that his girls are coming up missing and he begins his own investigation to uncover the truth. He is oddly compelling as a total asshole with almost no redeeming qualities who inadvertently becomes the only person that seems to actually understand what is going on while everyone else around him is too busy being caught up in petty media scandals, red tape and bumbling police bureaucracy. While the film attempts to resolve itself within the first half hour, we quickly realize that the means required to justify the ends are anything but easily obtained and the movie steadily falls into a nightmarish Kafkaesque scenario that becomes increasingly frantic and horrific as it races towards its harrowing conclusion.
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