Mother (2009/aka Madeo/Korea/Magnolia
Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: B-/C+ Extras: B- Feature: B-
Bong Joon-Ho has a name reputation as a director from
Korea and his film The Host (2006)
may be his biggest international hit, but he is not stuck in any genre and Mother (2009) is a comedy that has some
darkness, but is smarter than the usual such comedy and manages to pull off
most of what it sets out to do in its somewhat complex plotting. Kim Hye-ja plays the title character, an
older woman still looking after her son Do-joon, who has some mental
limitations, but is a good person.
He is hit by a car in an early scene, but this is only the
beginning, as he survives that idiocy, only to try and get revenge on the Mercedes
Benz that hit him and his troublemaking friend has them track down the drivers
to a golf course. Then he gets drunk and
by the next day, a young girl is dead and he is accused of murdering her!
Arrested, his mother will not believe it and intends to find
out what really happened, no matter what she has to do. Her persistence is non-stop and amusing as it
is charming, at least at first, then she starts to get closer to the truth, all
while visiting her son and trying to help him.
Eventually, this leads her down a path she never dreamed she would be
going down and this leads to a climax that has its complications, but is
interesting just the same and enough to more than recommend this film.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot with
HawkScope lenses with Arri cameras and Kodak stocks, it still looks weak in a
way that suggests something in the master sent out or Digital Internegative
work did not work out. Therefore, the
image can look washed out, detail can be an issue and the anamorphically
enhanced DVD is only slightly poorer. The
DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless Korean 5.1 track on the Blu-ray is warmer and
richer than the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on the DVD, but this is a dialogue-based
film with moments of well-placed silence, making it a smart mix without being
wild with its soundfield.
Extras in both versions include five making of featurettes (general “making of”, Production Design,
Supporting Actors, Cinematography and Music Score), while the Blu-ray adds two
more (Behind The Scenes, A Look At
Actress Kim Hye-ja)
- Nicholas Sheffo
