At the risk of putting a hex on my enjoyment of this film (which seems to happen whenever I start a thread anticipating a film), I'll proceed anyway and mention that YesAsia.com has just listed for pre-order the 2-disc, R3, South Korean DVD for the 2009 South Korean thriller - Mother - from Director BONG Joon-ho (MEMORIES OF MURDER, THE HOST). The price is $25.99 and it is currently listed for a release on November 5th.
I'm going to wait a month before pre-ordering because I want to see if YesAsia once again starts their $5 coupon with $50 order promotion.
nitin77
09-30-09, 11:08 AM
cheers, been waiting for this.
Brian T
09-30-09, 05:09 PM
Saw this at the Toronto fest and loved it, so no hexing from me (and in spite of vehemently disagreeing with you on K-cinema in the past, as I recall ;) ).
I'd recommend reading as little as possible about it, though. The twists are real corkers, but I'm sure there are some web reviewers who can't resist spoiling or hinting a little too closely.
Rypro 525
10-02-09, 04:29 AM
thanks. Looks like another blind korean cinema blind buy. Granted i haven't been disapointed yet, and 2 of them have turned into faves (Daisy directors cut, and A Bittersweet Life)
flixtime
10-05-09, 08:02 AM
As a follow-up to a comment I made in my initial post, YesAsia just again started offering the $5 coupon with $50 order promotion.
manicsounds
11-12-09, 08:53 PM
Received this today. I'll probably watch it sometime today.
flixtime
11-14-09, 10:13 PM
Just finished watching my copy which arrived today. It wasn't quite what I had expected...which, given the director, was maybe something along the lines of an even better example than the generally good suspense/thrillers Korea has been producing the last couple of years. MOTHER is actually more a detective mystery with the lead - the mother of the title - being a sort of amateur detective oddball/quirky/eccentric type, maybe think a less competent Miss Marple. So that's pretty much how it goes, for the most part it is a good but not particularly special movie (despite a few nicely done individual scenes for sure). The general tone was maybe a little closer to amusingly serious as opposed to deadly/serious/somber. It moved along at a rather even, measured pace as many mysteries do, but didn't really feature high thrills or a building momentum that I might have expected when I thought it was going to be more a thriller-type film. So, while I was finding the film certainly interesting and enjoyable, it still wasn't particularly memorable. All this held a fairly steady course...until we get to the last quarter of the movie, and that last quarter is most definitely breathtaking as everything starts to fall into place. As Brian T mentioned earlier, I too think MOTHER works best when approached cold. I'd guess that most of you who ordered the DVD will come away pleased with your purchase. As for my rating, as of this moment, I'll rate MOTHER as better-than-good.
Next up is CHAW which got delivered along with MOTHER.
And given the recent overheated discussion elsewhere, I did get a good laugh early in the movie when they say the word "retard" (as per the subtitles), and I think they even repeat it maybe a half-dozen more times throughout the movie.
Buy: