Mother

In a small Korean village, Do-joon lives with his widowed mother. One evening, Do-joon follows a young girl into an abandoned house. When the body of the young girl is discovered on the roof of the house the next morning, all the clues points in the direction of Do-joon. Convinced that he is innocent and willing to do anything to prove it, his mother begins her own investigation of the case. The title role is held by one of South Korea's great national treasures, Hya-ja Kim, in the performance of a lifetime.

With the monster flick The Host in 2006, Bong Joon-ho was firmly claimed him place on the global map of cinema. His next film moves in a rather different direction. Hitchcock's thrillers are a clear inspiration, but with Bong's characteristic pitch-black humour as a foundation. Before Academy Award-winning Parasite, Mother was often highlighted as his most underrated masterpiece. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to see it on the silver screen!

Mads Voss

Director Bong Joon-ho will give a personal video greeting to Films from the South before the film.

Director

Bong Joon-ho (b. 1969) is one of South Korea's most internationally renowned filmmakers, and extremely popular with the home crowd. The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013) and Parasite (2019) rank among the highest-grossing films of all time at the Korean box office. Bong’s feature film debut was Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), and his international breakthrough came in 2003 with the crime thriller Memories of Murder, before Mother followed in 2009. His trademarks are a dark sense of humour, rapid mood shifts, and a strong visual style with keen attention to detail. At this year’s Films From the South, you can deep-dive into Bong’s filmography in a comprehensive retrospective.