Mother

One of Bong Joon-ho's most underrated masterpieces, and a thriller on par with Hitchcock's best films.

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 to Do-joon. Convinced that he is innocent and willing to do anything to prove it, his mother begins her own investigation into the case. The title role is played 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 firmly claimed his place on the global map of cinema. His next film moves in a rather different direction. Hitchcock's thrillers are a clear inspiration, with Bong's characteristic pitch-black humour as a foundation.

Director

Bong Joon-ho (b. 1969) is one of South Korea's most renowned international and domestic filmmakers. The Host (2006), the English-language Snowpiercer (2013), and the Oscar-winning Parasite (2019) are among the most-watched films in South Korea ever. Bong made his feature film debut with Barking Dogs Never Bite in 2000 and gained widespread recognition with the crime thriller Memories of Murder in 2003, followed by Mother in 2009.