Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

96% Tomatometer 121 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings

A widow (Kim Hye-ja) resides with her mentally challenged son (Won-bin) in a small South Korean town, where she scrapes out a living selling medicinal herbs. Mother and son are plunged into a nightmare when the body of a murdered young girl is discovered. Circumstantial evidence indicates the son's involvement, and he becomes the prime suspect during the sloppy police investigation. Betrayed by the legal system, the mother takes the law into her own hands to clear her son's name.

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Mother

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Critics Consensus

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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Critics Reviews

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Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Megan Ratner Film Comment Magazine The film wears its aesthetic sophistication lightly ( ... ) Bong takes the idea of the primacy of perception over reality to its ultimate extreme. Jan 2, 2016 Full Review Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (2) J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 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. Dec 30, 2010 Full Review Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Jonathan Crocker Little White Lies Another quality Bong hit. Rated: 4/5 Aug 20, 2010 Full Review Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Dave Giannini InSession Film Mother is equal parts funny, engaging, and disgusting. Feb 20, 2024 Full Review Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Ray Pride Newcity Approaches the intensity of... <I>Vengeance is Mine</I>, but Bong’s mix of bumptious humor and strong plotting [leads] to a musical climax that’s the cinematic equivalent of acupuncture, releasing all the knots, gliding into a glorious sunset. Rated: 10/10 May 14, 2023 Full Review Mother | Rotten Tomatoes (6) David Nusair Reel Film Reviews There's little doubt that Mother improves considerably as it progresses... Rated: 3/4 Dec 12, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Luca D I love the fact that the mother being so eerily devoted to her son gets annoying very quickly. Anyone can relate. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/20/24 Full Review Andrea C Ancora un capolavoro di Bong Joon Ho che torna nell'ambiente del meraviglioso "Memorie di un assassino" con una storia tanto simile come "episodi" quanto diversa come sceneggiatura e risvolti.Una madre pronta a combattere contro tutto e tutti, senza badare alle evidenze ma soprattutto senza avere nessun tipo di capacità investigativa.E quando le sequenze sembrano portare ad un lieto fine piuttosto ovvio, avvengono una serie di capovolgimenti e di sconvolgimenti tali da lasciare senza fiato lo spettatore, spiazzato ed inerme verso le rivelazioni che giungono in rapida sequenza negli ultimi minuti.Il finale dolce amaro colpisce ancora una volta, vero punto di forza di un meraviglioso regista in grado di non sbagliare un singolo epilogo in tutta la sua lunga carriera.Un'opera da guardare e da assaporare lasciandosi trasportare dalla trama e dalla protagonista, senza porre resistenza al moto continuo della sua indagine. Capolavoro. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/11/24 Full Review Audience Member So…Asian movies often have a less-than subtle way of portraying people with disabilities, and this is no exception - lots of dramatic and slapstick scenes of the “slow” person doing stupid things. But then it also had some wild twists and dark turns that said so much more about the mother than I was expecting, soy feelings were mixed by the end. It actually got darker and more interesting as it went along, and, unusually, the end was actually more compelling than the beginning. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/24 Full Review Saad k A great slow-burn with a gut-punching ending. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/24 Full Review Alec B You expect shocking revelations but instead are given something much sadder and frankly more engaging. Bong Joon-ho is the master at these kinds of narratives, giving the audience what it needs instead of what they want and then convincing them that the ending is exactly what they wanted in the first place. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/24 Full Review S. C It is an unforgettable piece thanks to the writing and directing by Bong. Doesn't disappoint and surprises with its story and the way it is told. The cast shows skill and raw emotion, especially the lead role. The cinematography is admirable. It is shot creatively and at times very involving. Beautiful score. The locations for the sets are chosen just perfectly. You feel the directors vision as always, with his talent of successfully putting multiple genres into one and creating characters which are realistic and shockingly relatable. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Bong Joon Ho Director Kim Hye-ja Mother Won-bin Yoon Do-joon Jin Goo Jin-tae Yoon Je-moon Je-moon Jeon Mi-sun Mi-sun
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Synopsis A widow (Kim Hye-ja) resides with her mentally challenged son (Won-bin) in a small South Korean town, where she scrapes out a living selling medicinal herbs. Mother and son are plunged into a nightmare when the body of a murdered young girl is discovered. Circumstantial evidence indicates the son's involvement, and he becomes the prime suspect during the sloppy police investigation. Betrayed by the legal system, the mother takes the law into her own hands to clear her son's name.

Director
Bong Joon Ho

Producer
Choi Jae-won

Screenwriter
Bong Joon Ho, Park Eungyo, Park Wongyu

Distributor
Magnolia Pictures

Production Co
CJ Entertainment

Rating
R (Language|Drug Use|Some Sexual Content|Violence)

Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller

Original Language
Korean

Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 12, 2010, Limited

Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 21, 2011

Box Office (Gross USA)
$547.3K

Runtime
2h 8m
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