This report captures director Bong Joon-ho’s insights on his subversive thriller, detailing his “perverse” casting of icons Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin against their established types. Bong discusses his meticulous control over “feminine” landscapes and storyboards, ultimately emphasizing how the primal maternal instinct can transform a mother into a monster in her desperate quest to protect. [Read More]
Event tag: BFI LFF 2009
Remembering Murder: from “Memories of Murder” to “Mother”
Colette Balmain examines Bong Joon-ho’s Mother as a thematic evolution of Memories of Murder, shifting from a procedural to an intimate, arguably incestuous, study of devotion. By portraying the mother’s desperate quest for her son’s innocence against a corrupt, commodity-driven community, the film serves as a searing allegory for modern South Korea and its buried historical traumas. [Read More]
Korean Connections at the 53rd BFI London Film Festival
Colin Bartlett has overcome the shortcomings of the London Film Festival website search engine by diligently reading the 100 page festival brochure for films with Korean connections. Here are the results of his labours. First, the two main films we already know about: Hong Sang-soo’s Like you know it all (18, 19 Oct) www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/433 Bong … [Read More]