___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
"Did you kill her?"
Sometimes just knowing that there is a twist ending is enough of a spoiler to ruin a film for some, even though you, technically, don't even know what that shocking revelation actually is yet. Again, just knowing that there is one is enough to derail things as preconceptions as to what the twist could be tends to distract and muck and muddle things up. Joon-ho Bong's Mother has a twist ending in the last act, and I didn't see coming. Hell, it ties itself up into a pretzel -- a pretzel that's trying to devour itself. Usually, I'm pretty good at sniffing these things out but the rug was pulled out from under me this time, leaving me flat on my ass to squirm for the last ten to fifteen minutes as Bong continues to rabbit-punch the audience in the kidneys with each revelation and ramification that barely has time to sink in as the dogged and determined Mother (Kim) in question stops at nothing to exonerate her Son (Woon), accused of murder, by finding the real killer. And, damn, if that wasn't a refreshing experience despite the bitter pill we are asked to swallow.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Sometimes just knowing that there is a twist ending is enough of a spoiler to ruin a film for some, even though you, technically, don't even know what that shocking revelation actually is yet. Again, just knowing that there is one is enough to derail things as preconceptions as to what the twist could be tends to distract and muck and muddle things up. Joon-ho Bong's Mother has a twist ending in the last act, and I didn't see coming. Hell, it ties itself up into a pretzel -- a pretzel that's trying to devour itself. Usually, I'm pretty good at sniffing these things out but the rug was pulled out from under me this time, leaving me flat on my ass to squirm for the last ten to fifteen minutes as Bong continues to rabbit-punch the audience in the kidneys with each revelation and ramification that barely has time to sink in as the dogged and determined Mother (Kim) in question stops at nothing to exonerate her Son (Woon), accused of murder, by finding the real killer. And, damn, if that wasn't a refreshing experience despite the bitter pill we are asked to swallow.
I hope I haven't ruined Mother for you, here, but that last statement above can be interpreted in a lot of ways. Yeah, yeah, the twist won't blindside you now, like it did me, I already apologized for that. But if it helps at all the reveal isn't a cheat -- the clues are there, and the end net result resonates and will stick with you long after the film ends. Expectations be a harsh mistress seldom satisfied and all that, but, please, do not let that stop you from checking out this truly amazing film.
Madeo / Mother (2009) CJ Entertainment :: Barunson :: Magnolia Pictures / EP: Miky Lee, Katharine Kim, Yang-kwon Moon / P: Yang-kwon Moon, Tae-joon Park, Woo-sik Seo / AP: Joon H. Choi / D: Joon-ho Bong / W: Eun-kyo Park, Joon-ho Bong / C: Kyung-Pyo Hong / E: Sae-kyoung Moon / M: Byung-woo Lee / S: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Ku Jin, Je-mun Yun, Mi-sun Jun
No comments:
Post a Comment