Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Mother Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 24, 2010

Screened in the Un Certain Regard series at the Cannes Film Festival and winner of the SIGNIS Award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, Bong Joon-ho's "Madeo" a.k.a "Mother" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a making of featurette; cast and crew interviews; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Korean, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked".

Alone with her thoughts

What makes Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Mother a great film is the fact that one never knows what is going on in the heads of its two main protagonists - a mother (Kim Hye-Ja) and her twenty-seven-year-old son (Won Bin). Though they are very close to each other, both appear to be living in two drastically different worlds. The son, who has trouble remembering, often sees things, which one could never quite tell whether or not are real. The mother is a quiet woman who barely speaks.

The mother and the son are forced out of their comfort zones when a young girl is brutally murdered. The son is thrown in jail because he apparently liked the dead girl and cannot remember where he was on the night when she was murdered. The mother goes berserk after everyone around her refuses to believe that her son is not a murderer.

For awhile, Joon-ho makes it look like Mother is a classic whodunit affair with a few melodramatic overtones. We follow the mother as she contacts different lawyers and asks for their help, then meets old friends who have know her son for years and can vouch that he could not possibly be a murderer, and finally confronts the detectives who arrested him. When her strategy fails, the mother goes to the jail and asks her son to try to remember as much as he can about the night when the girl was murdered. This is when Mother becomes a different film.

First, instead of remembering more about the night when the girl was murdered, the son remembers how his mother tried to kill him when he was only five years old. The mother is shocked. Apparently, she wanted to kill her son and then herself because she could not come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t the mother she always wanted to be. She changed her mind at the last minute, realizing that it is better to be alive and keep trying. Things got better and the mother assumed that her son would never remember her mistake.

Second, when the mother realizes that there is nothing she could do to convince the police that her son is innocent, she becomes a different person - presumably, the same person she was years ago when she failed to meet her own expectations. It is a massive character transformation that changes the entire complexion of the film. Through it, Joon-ho cuts deep into the stereotypical mother-son relationship and asks questions that are beyond fascinating.

In addition to the shocking revelations and complex character transformations, Mother also boasts a strong dose of deadpan black humor with some very effective satirical overtones. For example, throughout the film the reactions of the frustrated mother are often rushed, at times notably chaotic, causing many of the darker scenes to also look absurdly hilarious.

The acting is very strong. Kim Hye-Ja, in particular, is terrific, providing her character with admirable depth and complexity. Won Bin is also convincing, though, admittedly his acting is not as fluid as Hye-Ja's.

Cinematographer Hong Kyung-Pyo, who worked on the Korean hits Il Mare (2000) and Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, has also done a wonderful job of capturing the natural beauty of the Korean countryside.

In 2009, Mother was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, Mother was also nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Mother Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bong Joon-ho's Mother arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer, which appears to be practically identical to the one used by CJ Entertainment for the Korean Blu-ray release of Mother. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity very pleasing and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme looks identical to the one of the Korean Blu-ray release - greens, blues, browns, and especially blacks look rich and well saturated. For the record, none of the light color filtering from the Region-A release Blu-ray release of Mother, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures, is present on this high-definition transfer. There are a couple of scenes where I noticed traces of some extremely mild edge-enhancement but was never bothered by it. I did not detect any traces of heavy noise-reduction. Additionally, when blown through a digital projector the image conveys pleasing depth and tightness. Finally, I did not see any large marks, scratches, stains, or debris to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Mother Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Korean DTS 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid, though it certainly won't test the muscles of your audio system. As I noted in my review for the Korean release of Mother, surround activity in this film is limited, but there are a couple of scenes with good ambient effects. Bass activity is limited as well. Finally, the dialog is crisp, clean, stable and very easy to follow.

I tested only a couple of scenes with the Korean DTS 2.0 track. As expected, its dynamic amplitude is limited. During the scene where the mother dances, for instance, the guitar solo is sounds richer and fuller on the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

Mother Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Making of Madeo - a long, very informative featurette with terrific comments by director Bong Joon-ho and different cast and crew members addressing the message of the film. Raw footage from the shooting of specific scenes is also included. In Korean, with optional English subtitles. (43 min, 720p).

The Transformation of Kim Hye-ja - actress Kim Hye-ja discusses the character she plays. Raw footage from the shooting of key scenes from the film is also included. In Korean, with optional English subtitles. (7 min, 720p).

Cast and Crew Reflect - different cast and crew members discuss their work on Madeo. Once again, raw footage from the shooting of the film is included. In Korean, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 720p).

Trailer - the original Korean theatrical trailer for the film. In Korean, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 720p).

Mother Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment have put together a very strong package for Bong Joon-ho's wonderful film Mother. The high-definition transfer is practically identical to that of the Korean release. Some of the good supplemental features from the Korean release have also been ported. If you could play Region-B "locked" releases, and require English subtitles, I believe that this is the Blu-ray release you should go for. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.