MOTHER (aka Madeo)
Bong Joon-ho | 2009 | South Korea | 2h08m | Presented in the original Korean audio with English subtitles
What makes MOTHER so satisfying is how confidently it changes shape. At one moment it feels like a detective story, then a black comedy, then a family tragedy. Bong never lets any one genre settle for long, and the mystery at the centre of the story becomes less important than what one mother is prepared to do to protect her son.
I screened Bong's MEMORIES OF MURDER here at FOMO last week. It was very well attended and some guests asked me to consider programming MOTHER as a follow-up companion piece. Much like MEMORIES, MOTHER is built around murder, incompetent policing and the damage caused when institutions decide they’ve found the easiest answer.
Kim Hye-ja gives one of the great performances in Bong’s filmography. Her character is loving, manipulative, frightened, resourceful and increasingly willing to cross lines she may once have thought unthinkable. Bong keeps shifting our sympathy as the investigation deepens, turning the familiar idea of maternal devotion into something obsessive and dangerous.
The film sits between Bong’s earlier genre experiments like THE HOST and the international breakthrough that would come later with SNOWPIERCER and PARASITE. You can already see many of his defining interests here: incompetent institutions, class resentment, sudden tonal shifts, physical comedy appearing in the middle of horror, and ordinary people being pushed into extreme situations by systems that barely function.
If you're a fan of Asian cinema, or joined us for MEMORIES OF MURDER last week and want to see the companion piece, please join us at FOMO this Friday.
FOOD AND DRINK POLICY: SHEREKILEBI Bar in FOMO Secret Cinema opens 1 hour before the first screening of the day and closes at 01:30, serving a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic refreshments including coffee and tea, as well as fresh hot popcorn! Outside food is allowed in the bar but not in the cinema. No alcohol or drinks from outside are allowed. All guests are invited to arrive early and stay late!
LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to Level 1. Signage on the door. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTMzMTA2Mjk0MDI5MjM1
REFUND & CREDIT POLICY: If FOMO cancels a screening, all ticket holders will receive a full refund. If your plans change and you can no longer attend, we’ll issue you a credit for the value of your ticket, which can be used for any FOMO film screening within the following 30 days.
TICKETS are also available at SHEREKILIBER Bar on arrival unless sold out.
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
