Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

1. I am not a professional movie critic/ contemporary cinema connoisseur/cinema-101-millenial-turned-cinema-snob who feels the need to blog on impulse for personal attention. You are not going to find too many protagonist, antagonist, plot, scene mentions on these reviews. 2. My reviews are intended to inspire, (if I may be permitted to use that word) everyday, ordinary people who recourse to popular cinema: domestic and international and might be tired of the same mind numbing, brainwashed, predictable entertainment on our screens today. To inspire them to go and buy, rent or join clubs or associations showcasing such movies, where available, or to at least search for avenues where one can watch cinema for what I like it: art, beautiful storytelling, impeccable acting and lasting memories. 3. My approach is usually "mile wide, inch deep". That being said (very rarely) it might be the other way around "inch wide, mile deep", where I pick on a specific aspect and rave/ rant about the same. If you are looking for an in-depth, comprehensive review, I doubt I could satisfy that vein. 4. My perspective is that of an individual who views the world through limited knowledge of cinema and reading. I am not an extensive traveller, I do not feel the need to be a part of an era or to engage with a specific culture/ sub culture to review it. I take my time to write what I think appears meaningful to me during the course of the movie.5. Inevitably, there will be aspects that I will refer to in the movie that I cannot negate: scenes, specific aspects of plots or personalities. My reviews will always carry a SPOILER ALERT warning. You have been warned!6. I tend to compare different movies that I think are either in the same genre or , in some way, aesthetically connected to the movie I review. You will also have my reasons for why I think this would be an apt comparison. You may not necessarily agree with my reasons for the same, feel free to stop reading at any time.

Mother tells the story of an old unnamed woman who begins an investigation of her own to find out the real culprit when her own mentally-challenged son is arrested & tricked into signing a confession for the horrific murder of a high-school girl. Though it may look like another one of those stories where a person is falsely convicted of a crime he didn't commit & in the end is proved innocent, Mother brings a slightly different dimension of its own into this tale and never gives out the mystery until the film's final third act which reveals itself in a manner that most people wouldn't see coming.Smartly directed by Bong Joon-ho, who introduces dark humour & radically shifting narratives but still make the story work as a whole, brilliantly written & smoothly photographed as well, what makes this film really fascinating is the impressive lead performance by Kim Hye-ja as the unnamed mother living with her son & wonderfully portrays how far she is willing to go to protect her son out of maternal love & care. Wo Jin has magnificently played Do-joon, the disabled son who is prone to hitting back whenever someone mocks his disability.On an overall scale, Mother is part unsettling, part heartbreaking & part thrilling black comedy that promises an emotional roller-coaster ride & delivers so. It may not be as great a masterpiece as Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder, but succeeds as a good thriller nonetheless that comes full circle in the end to finish on a note that's as weirdly funny as it is tragic.

So twisted yet beautifully told murder mystery. I first came across this movie after watching the supporting actor Won Bin's action movie 'the man from nowhere'. I was so impressed by his acting in that movie that I decided to check out his other films. And I'm so glad I did cus it meant coming across this little gem of a movie. What an incredible twisted, bizarre and beautifully shot murder mystery it was. The two main performances were superb and the mother and son twisted dynamic really made this movie for me. South Korea is really at the forefront of interesting and unique cinema in the world. I look forward to more work by the genius Director Bong and also the immensely gifted Won Bin.

"Mother" is an alluring piece of work, an artful mystery that melds clever plotting with resourceful camera work, with sympathetic characters that are fascinatingly morbid. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho follows his monster extravaganza "The Host" (2006), in firm control of his medium in a different genre, proving once again that conventions need not always confine.After a night of drinking and waiting for his long time friend, Do-joon (Won Bin), finds himself in some serious trouble. The next morning, he is accused of murdering a young woman on his way home from the bar, and he has no recollection of whether or not he did. The case has enough evidence to be closed quickly, but his mother, played by Kim Hye-ja, refuses to believe that her son could do such a thing. So she pushes forward, not accepting what the police have pieced together, and starts her own investigation to find the real killer, and free her son.The film is a labyrinthine and cleverly deceptive, and not in a way we might anticipate. Long after a conventional thriller would have its destination in plain sight, "Mother" is still penetrating our assumptions. There are twists are aplenty, and deductions achieved too easily are simply the result of contrived clues and convenient witness testimony. "Mother" delights in confounding viewer expectations. In fact, just when you think it's over, a couple more developments still remain.The film progresses with remarkable clarity, while drawing surprise and suspense from unexpected places. It's director Joon-ho Bong's unique style of old and modern approaches to filmmaking -- his stylistic and subtle ability to weave this story, and employing a witty use of dark humor throughout is what makes this film so impressive. "Mother" slowly burns its way towards revelations and depths of a character's soul that most dramatic thrillers shy away from. The most surprising aspect of "Mother" is how differently it begins, and from that, what it becomes. Unique and utterly compelling in its entirety, "Mother" concludes in a manner that solves all (or nearly all) outstanding riddles. "Mother" deftly weaves a story about mother's love into a mystery thriller that will keep you guessing every step of the way.