Thursday, July 02, 2009

Bong Joon-ho on the Controversy Surrounding 'Mother'



"Mother," the latest film by Bong Joon-ho, has drawn 2.19 viewers in 11 days since its release on May 28, and the film is getting more controversial the more viewers it attracts due to the room it leaves for different interpretations.

Bong said, "I wanted many mothers to watch 'Mother,' and I think my wish came true. There are many viewers during weekdays since most housewives have time on weekday afternoons. I think it will get a bigger audience than I expected."

The movie is about a mother with overbearing love for her son, who has been charged with murder. "I had a couple of chances to talk about the characters during press interviews and previews even before the release of the movie," says Bong. "The mother, the protagonist of the movie, appears to be unusual if you expect the stereotyped image of a mother you might have in mind. That seems to be a reason many viewers say it is terrifying."

He says the movie "is deeply focused on the nature of a mother who goes to any length to protect her mentally fragile son, so the movie deals with her moral dilemma through her extremism."

Bong says he doesn't like to use a lot of cinematic trickery that insinuates something behind the scene. "Hiding something is not the aesthetic that I pursue in my films. I think the manipulative use of mise en scene can make audiences miss other important elements of the film."

His last movie "The Host" was hugely popular, drawing 13 million viewers in Korea alone, and in France it was voted as one of the best three art house movies of 2006. "I'm still young and have made only four movies so far. Maybe 15 years from now, 'Mother' might be classified as one of my early works. I hope people enjoy the film itself and wait and see what great movies I will make in the future," he says.

Credit: englishnews@chosun.com

source: : Chosun


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