I have had multiple people over the past few months recommend that I check out the 2009 critically acclaimed Korean movie “Mother” and I am glad I did.

The movie is directed by Bong Joon-ho who also directed the hit Korean monster movie “The Host”, which I did not much care for due to its obviously absurd anti-American themes in the movie.  However, there is no doubt that Bong is a skilled director which is obvious by him directing I think the best Korean movie of the past decade “Memories of Murder”.  Well his directing skills showed in this movie that depicts a tale of how a single older mother tries to prove that her mentally handicapped son is innocent of brutally murdering a young girl in their small Korean town.   Hye-ja Kim who plays the mother in the film will be familiar to most people who have lived in Korea as being the quintessential “ajumma” who dotes over her son and will do anything for him including proving her son’s innocence.  Since the police show little interest in helping her, she strikes out on her own questioning suspects, sneaking into homes, and even torturing people for information.

Much like with “Memories of Murder” Bong does an excellent job in regards to building a dark story line that climaxes into an ending that reveals who the real killer is.  The movie will leave viewers asking afterwards if they would have done what this Mother had to do to get her son out of jail and whether it all was worth it.  One thing I can tell you watching this movie is definitely worth it and I recommend checking it out.  It may not be as good as “Memories of Murder”, but it is close enough.