Mother (Madeo) (2009)
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 110
Fresh: 105 | Rotten: 5
As fleshy as it is funny, Bong Joon-Ho's Mother straddles family drama, horror and comedy with a deft grasp of tone and plenty of eerie visuals.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 2
As fleshy as it is funny, Bong Joon-Ho's Mother straddles family drama, horror and comedy with a deft grasp of tone and plenty of eerie visuals.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 14,373
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Movie Info
A woman devoted to her son struggles to keep him from spending his life in prison in this drama from director Bong Joon-ho. Do-jun (Weon Bin) is a man in his mid-twenties who isn't especially bright and is easily led. Do-jun lives with his elderly mother (Kim Hye-ja), who loves him fiercely even though she has no illusions about his abilities or his bad habits. Do-jun spends much of his spare time with Jin-tae (Jin Gu), a borderline criminal who takes advantage of Do-jun's credulous nature, much
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Cast
-
Hye-ja Kim
Mother -
Bin Won
Yoon Do-joon -
Jin Goo
Jin-tae -
Yoon Jae-Moon
Je-mun -
Jun Mi-sun
Mi-sun -
Song Sae-beauk
Sepaktakraw Detective -
Lee Young-suck
Ragman -
Moon Hee-ra
Moon Ah-jung -
Chun Woo-hee
Mina -
Kim Byeong-seon
Chief -
Yu Mou-young
Mr. Gong Suk-ho (lawyer... -
Jung Young-ki
Thin high schooler -
Ko Kyu-phill
Fat High Schooler -
Lee Mi-do
Girl with scar -
Kim Gin-goo
Ah-jung's grandmother -
Kim Hong-jip
Jong-pal -
Min Kyung-Jin
Mr. Gong's Assistant -
Cho Kyung-sook
Mina's mother -
Myeong-shin Park
Shop owner -
Yoon Yeong-geol
Detective -
Gweon Byeong-Gil
Golf Course Dean -
Beom-taek Gweon
Golf Course Cart Drivin... -
Ha Deok-sung
Golf Course Runaway Pro... -
Yeom Dong-hun
Golf Course Fat Profess... -
Lee Young-eun
Ah-jung's Relative -
Yim Geun-ah
Ah-jung's Relative -
Hwang Young-hee
Ah-jung's Pregnant Rela... -
Kim Mi-joon
Hye-ja's Customer -
Hong Gyung-yeon
Hye-ja's Customer -
Kim Tae-wan
Young Do-joon -
Yoo In-soo
Prisoner -
Cho Moon-ui
Prisoner Wearing Glasse... -
Kwack Byung-gyu
Charcoal Man -
Lee Dae-Yun
Pharmacist -
Lim Sung-mi
Ah-jung's Friend with S... -
Sung Joon-seo
Prison Guard Uncle Jong... -
Lim Hyoung-guk
Journalist -
Han Jee-jee
Policewoman -
Kim Min-Jung
Miss Kim -
Jang Pil-gyung
Middle Schooler Playing... -
Moon Bock-dong
Middle Schooler Eating ... -
Kim Tae-hwan
Middle School Eating Fi... -
Lee Seung-hyung
Middle Schooler Wearing... -
Nam Sung-ho
Waiter at Manhattan -
Lee Ok-joo
Employee at a Supermark... -
Kim Jung-wook
Detective Wearing Leath... -
Kim Bo-Gyeong
Barmaid -
Lee Byeol-im
Barbaid Mixing Drinks -
Lee Hyun-joo
Barmaid Clapping Hands -
Han Mee
Caddie -
Jae-Won Choi
Mr. Park Jong-pyo (Pros... -
Lee Gyu-hyun
Dr. Yoon Jong-gu -
Kim Gyu-nam
Man Watching Spot Inves... -
Jang Yong-joo
Man Watching a Car Acci... -
Choi So-mang
British Boy -
Christopher Briscoe
British Boy's Dad -
Park Tae-joon
Waiter at a Karaoke -
Yoon Hye-jin
Young Woman at a Coach ... -
Jeong Dong
Detective -
Kwon Ki-hoon
Detective -
Shin Young-sik
Taxi Driver -
Shin-Jae-young
Laundress -
Park In-mok
Cook-pot at Grill House -
Yoo Jong-hwan
Taxi Driver
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Mother (Madeo) Trailer & Photos
All Critics (110) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (5) | DVD (4)
Bong's opening and climactic scenes, in which the old woman bops around to a dance tune amid a vast field of yellow grass, are typical of the movie's cockeyed poetry.
Top CriticBold, unpredictable and quietly devastating, Mother is Bong's first masterpiece.
You've never met a mother quite like this one.
It is Hye-ja Kim that carries Mother, making her mother of a Mother an all-suffering, all-enduring victim who acquires more spine and subtler shadings as the story deliberately, patiently reveals its secrets.
Disturbing, enthralling and filled with interesting shots that reflect an artist's eye.
Bong is a talent to heed.
Hye-ja Kim gives an Oscar-worthy performance. A very good, very cool piece of cinema.
'Mother' has 'American remake' written all over it.
This Korean film packs a serious punch, has a killer crossover, but sort of loses its momentum at the end.
An oddball sinister murder mystery that's much more than that.
It's intelligent, funny, quirky, serious, richly involving, grotesque.
Mother is a superbly-made thriller with some scenes which will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
A deceptively simple and humorous tale with wonderfully nasty flashes of violence that feel entirely real.
Beautifully crafted and full of surprises Mother grows more compelling as it unfolds.
The film has visual panache, but it's the way Bong uses such a unique character to tap into the lonely, damaged nature of the private eye archetype that really makes Mother stand out.
Another quality Bong hit.
Mother is always a little larger than life -- a little richer and more strongly defined -- while never making life, real life, seem less than the full and focused object of its gaze.
If you're a fan of foreign cinema, keen to catch one of this year's best imports...Mum's the word.
Echoing Bong's previous output, a seam of absurd and precisely paced humour adds unpredictability to the ostensibly simple story, defying genre conventions while playfully satirising the film's stereotypes.
Mother is shot and edited with wonderful precision, and Bong continues to stun with his unerring ability to strike a perfect balance between the film's lighter and darker elements.
Bong dredges up dread from the mousy determination of Hye-ja's Miss Marple-like detective work -- her meekness hides an astonishing fortitude...
Mother is more focused than The Host, operating as a strong genre film even though Bong skilfully undermines many of the murder mystery conventions.
Audience Reviews for Mother (Madeo)
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Latest News on Mother (Madeo)
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Foreign Titles
- Mother (DE)
- Mother (FR)
All the actors play their roles superbly, the cinematography is unique, the editing has an unbelievable amount of precision, and the dialogue is simple yet smart. I'm gonna tell ya though, this is a violent movie that exudes a very eerie and disturbing tone. Haven't seen a movie like it. For a movie with a very linear plotline, "Mother" dishes in variety through unpredictability, enthralling "indie-like" scenes that add artistic value, and incredibly tense scenes. Yeah... Hollywood's missing out...
"Mother" exceeds on all levels and unlike many Korean movies, leaves viewers with something more then just a story -- it leaves an impression that won't be forgotten for a while.