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Mother (2009 film)

{{short description|2009 film by Bong Joon Ho}}

{{About|the 2009 film|the 2018 TV series|Mother (South Korean TV series)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Mother

| image = Mother film poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| native_name = {{Infobox Korean film name

| hangul = 마더

| hanja =

| rr = Madeo

| mr = Madŏ

| lk = }}

| director = Bong Joon Ho

| producer = Choi Jae-won
Seo Woo-sik

| writer = Bong Joon Ho
Park Eun-kyo

| starring =

{{plainlist|

}}

| music = Lee Byung-woo

| cinematography = Hong Kyung-pyo

| editing = Moon Sae-kyung

| studio = CJ Entertainment
Barunson

| distributor = CJ Entertainment

| released = {{film date|2009|5|16|Cannes|2009|5|28|South Korea|df=yes}}

| runtime = 128 minutes

| country = South Korea

| language = Korean

| budget = {{USD|5 million}}

| gross = {{USD|17.1 million}}[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mother2010.htm "Mother (2010)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005235312/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mother2010.htm |date=5 October 2018 }}. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 13 August 2013.

}}

Mother ({{Korean|hangul=마더|rr=Madeo}}) is a 2009 South Korean neo-noir thriller film directed by Bong Joon Ho, starring Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin. The plot follows a mother who, after her intellectually disabled son is accused of the murder of a young girl, attempts to find the true killer to get her son freed.

The film premiered on 16 May 2009 at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, and was released in South Korea on 28 May 2009. It received acclaim from critics, who praised Kim's performance, direction, screenplay, and the film's uniqueness.

Plot

An unnamed widow lives alone with her only son, selling medicinal herbs in a small town in southern South Korea while conducting unlicensed acupuncture treatments for the town's women on the side to erase bad memories. Her son, Yoon Do-joon, is shy, but prone to attacking anyone who mocks his intellectual disability. She dotes on him and scolds him for hanging out with Jin-tae, a local thug. When Do-joon is nearly hit by a car, he and Jin-tae vandalize the car and attack the driver and passengers as revenge. Jin-tae blames Do-joon for the damage done to the car, and Do-joon is sued. His mother struggles with the burden of the debt.

On his way home from a bar late at night, Do-joon sees a high school girl named Moon Ah-jung walking alone and follows her to an abandoned building. The next morning, she is discovered dead on the rooftop, shocking the town and pressuring the incompetent police to find the killer. Do-joon is arrested for the murder due to circumstantial evidence placing him near the scene of the crime. His mother believes he is innocent, and tries to prove he is not the murderer. However, she is challenged by her self-absorbed lawyer and the community who unanimously blames Do-joon for the crime.

Suspecting Jin-tae of committing the murder, the mother breaks into his house to look for evidence. She takes a golf club, which she believes has blood on it, but when she turns it over to the police and Jin-tae is confronted about it, it becomes clear that the "blood" is just smeared lipstick. Despite her accusation, Jin-tae agrees to help the mother solve the case for a fee.

When the mother questions the people in town about Ah-jung, they tell her the girl was sexually promiscuous and in a relationship with a boy known as Jong-pal, who had escaped a sanatorium. Do-joon attacks another prisoner who calls him "retard". On one of his mother's prison visits, Do-joon recalls a memory of her attempt to kill him and then herself when he was five by lacing their drinks with a pesticide. She tries to apologize, saying she wants to free them both from hardship, but he tells her he never wants to see her again.

The mother learns from a camera shop worker that Ah-jung had frequent nosebleeds and had pictures on her cellphone that she wanted to have printed. Ah-jung's friend is attacked by two young men who are looking for the phone, but the mother rescues her and then pays Jin-tae to interrogate the men, who claim that Ah-jung accepted rice in exchange for sex (and was nicknamed "the rice cake girl"). They say she used her phone to secretly take pictures of her partners, thus making it a potential tool for blackmailing. The mother tracks down the phone, which is hidden at Ah-jung's grandmother's house.

Do-joon remembers seeing an elderly man in the abandoned building on the night of Ah-jung's death and identifies him in one of the pictures on Ah-jung's phone. The mother recognizes the man as a junk collector she once bought an umbrella from and goes to his home to find out what he saw, on the pretense of offering him charity medical services. The collector reveals that he has been troubled since he saw Do-joon kill Ah-jung. He witnessed the two have a short conversation, during which Ah-jung called Do-joon a "retard", and Do-joon then threw a large rock into the shadows in which Ah-jung was standing, hitting her in the head and inadvertently killing her, and then dragged her to the rooftop. Unable to accept the truth, the mother frantically tells the collector that Do-joon is innocent, but the collector picks up the phone to finally report what he has seen to the police. Fearing for her son, the mother bludgeons the collector with a wrench and sets fire to his house.

Later, the police tell the mother that they have found the "real" killer: Jong-pal, who is being presumed guilty after Ah-jung's blood was found on his shirt. The police assume it got there during the murder, but the mother realizes that Jong-pal's story, that the blood is the result of Ah-jung's nose bleeding during consensual sex, is true. Feeling guilty, she visits Jong-pal, who is even more intellectually disabled than her son, and cries for him when she hears he does not have a mother to fight for him, knowing he is going to jail for a crime he did not commit.

Do-joon is freed from prison and Jin-tae picks him up. They pass the collector's burned-down house on the way home and stop to pick through the rubble. During dinner, Do-joon muses to his mother that Jong-pal probably dragged Ah-jung up to the roof so that someone would see she was hurt and help her. As the mother is about to depart from a bus station on a "Thank-You Parents" tour, Do-joon returns her acupuncture kit, which he found in the remains of the junk collector's house, and tells her to be more careful. Jarred by his discovery, she sits on the bus in shock before using the kit to blank out the memory of her son's and her guilty crime. She begins to dance with the other parents on the bus.

Cast

  • Kim Hye-ja as Mother, an unnamed widow who is extremely protective of her son and attempts to free him from a murder charge
  • Won Bin as Yoon Do-joon,{{Cite web|url=https://www.hancinema.net/korean_Won_Bin-filmography.html|title=Won Bin's Filmography, Credits (원빈, Korean actor)|website=HanCinema|language=en-US|access-date=7 March 2018|archive-date=7 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307150937/https://www.hancinema.net/korean_Won_Bin-filmography.html|url-status=live}} the adult son of Mother, who has an intellectual disability and is accused of the murder of a local girl
  • Jin Goo as Jin-tae, a local ne'er do well and one of Do-joon's friends. He bosses Do-joon around, but agrees to help Mother free her son.
  • Yoon Je-moon as Je-moon, the detective in charge of Ah-jung's murder case
  • Jeon Mi-seon as Mi-seon, a camera-shop worker who helps Mother. She had met Ah-jung before she died.
  • Song Sae-byeok as a detective
  • Lee Young-suk as the junk collector
  • Moon Hee-ra as Moon Ah-jung,{{Cite web|url=https://www.hancinema.net/korean_Moon_Hee-ra-filmography.html|title=Moon Hee-ra's Filmography, Credits (문희라, Korean actress)|website=HanCinema|language=en-US|access-date=7 March 2018|archive-date=29 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629211332/https://www.hancinema.net/korean_Moon_Hee-ra-filmography.html|url-status=live}} a young girl who is murdered, leading the police to arrest Do-joon
  • Chun Woo-hee as Mi-na, Jin-tae's girlfriend
  • Kim Byung-Soon as the detective team leader
  • Yeo Moo-Young as Do-joon's lawyer
  • Lee Mi-do as Hyung-teo, Ah-jung's friend
  • Kim Jin-goo as Ah-jung's grandma
  • Lee Jung-eun as Ah-jung's relative with glasses
  • Hwang Young-hee as Ah-jung's pregnant relative
  • Kwak Do-won as charcoal fire man
  • Ko Kyu-pil as Ddong Ddong

Release

Mother competed in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10891938/year/2009.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Mother |access-date=17 May 2009 |work=Festival-cannes.com |archive-date=8 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008223402/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10891938/year/2009.html |url-status=live }} In South Korea, it attracted 3,003,785 admissions nationwide and grossed a total of {{USD|16,283,879}}, becoming the 6th most-attended domestic film of 2009, and 10th overall.[http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm09.html "The Best Selling Films of 2009"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704080054/http://koreanfilm.org/kfilm09.html |date=4 July 2012 }}. Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 13 August 2013.[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/korea/?yr=2009&wk=32&p=new "South Korea Box Office: August 7–9, 2009"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008155853/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/by-year/2009/?area=KR |date=8 October 2024 }}. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 13 August 2013. The film had its U.S. premiere in February 2010 as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and it received a limited U.S. theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures in March 2010.{{cite web|title=Exam and Mother Take Top Honors at Santa Barbara Film Fest|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35930/exam-and-mother-take-top-honors-santa-barbara-film-fest|work=Dread Central|access-date=13 August 2013|date=16 February 2010|archive-date=9 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009045658/http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35930/exam-and-mother-take-top-honors-santa-barbara-film-fest|url-status=live}} In March 2015, the film was re-released in the US at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York, as part of their Bong Joon Ho Retrospective (along with Memories of Murder, The Host, and Snowpiercer).{{cite web|title=New York Theater Hosting Bong Joon-ho Retrospective|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/92380/new-york-theater-hosting-bong-joon-ho-retrospective/|work=Dread Central|access-date=13 August 2013|date=16 February 2010|archive-date=11 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311110333/http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/92380/new-york-theater-hosting-bong-joon-ho-retrospective/|url-status=live}} A black-and-white version of the film was released in 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2013/11/bong-joon-ho-unveiling-black-white-version-of-mother-at-mar-del-plata-film-festival-91501/|title=Bong Joon-Ho Unveiling Black & White Version Of 'Mother' At Mar Del Plata Film Festival|last=Jagernauth|first=Kevin|date=19 November 2013|website=IndieWire|language=en|access-date=23 February 2020|archive-date=23 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223085449/https://www.indiewire.com/2013/11/bong-joon-ho-unveiling-black-white-version-of-mother-at-mar-del-plata-film-festival-91501/|url-status=dead}}

The film was reported to have been made with a $5 million budget and went on to be the sixth highest-grossing film in South Korea in 2009.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/won-bin-kim-hye-ja-set-for-mother-1117983743/|title=Won Bin, Kim Hye-Ja set for 'Mother'|date=9 April 2008|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008155847/https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/won-bin-kim-hye-ja-set-for-mother-1117983743/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm09.html|title=Korean Movie Reviews for 2009|access-date=10 September 2012|archive-date=4 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704080054/http://koreanfilm.org/kfilm09.html|url-status=live}}

=Critical response=

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of 7.88/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/madeo |title=Mother (Madeo) (2010) |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=31 January 2020 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811135342/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/madeo |url-status=live }} On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/mother |title=Mother (2010) Reviews |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=20 October 2017 |archive-date=9 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009131213/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/mother |url-status=live }}

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praised the performance by Kim Hye-ja and described the film as "alternately dazzling and frustrating".{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/movies/12mother.html|title=Bong Joon-ho's Fierce Love: Better Not Make This Mom Angry|work=The New York Times|first=Manohla|last=Dargis|date=11 March 2010|access-date=20 October 2017|archive-date=21 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021005731/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/movies/12mother.html|url-status=live}}

;Top ten lists

Mother appeared on many film critics' "best-of" lists of 2010.{{cite web|title=2010 Film Critic Top Ten Lists|url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-critic-top-ten-lists|publisher=Metacritic|date=9 December 2010|access-date=25 May 2017|archive-date=5 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105213555/http://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-critic-top-ten-lists|url-status=dead}}

{{div col|colwidth=40em}}

  • 2nd – Reverse Shot
  • 2nd – Frank Paiva, MSN Movies
  • 4th – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/the-best-films-of-2010-49101|title=The best films of 2010|work=The A.V. Club|date=16 December 2010|access-date=25 December 2010}}
  • 4th – Michael Atkinson, The Village Voice
  • 4th – Jim Emerson, MSN Movies
  • 5th – Slant Magazine{{cite web|title=The 25 Best Films of 2010|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/best-of-2010-film|work=Slant|date=15 December 2010|access-date=25 May 2017|archive-date=23 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523041922/http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/best-of-2010-film|url-status=live}}
  • 7th – Kim Morgan, MSN Movies
  • 7th – Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
  • 8th – Keith Philipps, The A.V. Club
  • 8th – Scott Tobias, The A.V. Club
  • 10th – Tasha Robinson, The A.V. Club
  • 10th – Cahiers du cinéma{{cite web|title=Top Ten 2010|url=https://www.cahiersducinema.com/produit/top-10-2010/|work=Cahiers du cinéma|access-date=25 May 2017|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126125436/https://www.cahiersducinema.com/produit/top-10-2010/|url-status=live}}
  • Not ranked – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker{{cite magazine|last=Lane|first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Lane|title=Ten Films I Liked in 2010|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ten-films-i-liked-in-2010|date=7 December 2010|access-date=25 May 2017|archive-date=11 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711132817/http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ten-films-i-liked-in-2010|url-status=live}}
  • Not ranked – Dana Stevens, Slant Magazine{{cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2010/12/wow.html|title=Wow. My Top Ten Movies of 2010|last=Stevens|first=Dana|journal=Slate|author-link=Dana Stevens (critic)|date=29 December 2010|access-date=25 May 2017|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923100146/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2010/12/wow.html|url-status=live}}
  • Not ranked – Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

{{div col end}}

Awards and nominations

The film was selected as South Korea's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.{{cite web|title=Film Council Selects Mother for Academy Award Submission|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/08/11/2009081100759.html|work=The Chosun Ilbo|access-date=13 August 2013|date=11 August 2009|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120548/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/08/11/2009081100759.html|url-status=live}}

class="wikitable sortable"

!Award

!Category

!Recipient

!Result

!Ref.

rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | Buil Film Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{won}}

| rowspan="4" |

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}
Best Cinematography

|Hong Kyung-pyo

{{won}}
Best Music

|Lee Byung-woo

{{won}}
rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Busan Film Critics Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{won}}

| rowspan="3" |{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Jessica|title=Kim, Ha win top film critics award|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009101222574035003|website=Asiae|date=October 12, 2009|access-date=August 13, 2013|archive-date=February 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204031655/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009101222574035003|url-status=live}}

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}
Best Cinematography

|Hong Kyung-pyo

{{won}}
style="text-align:center;" | Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival

|Best Actress in a Foreign Film

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Hyo-won|title=Kim Hye-ja Named Best Actress in China Festival|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/11/178_55001.html|work=The Korea Times|access-date=13 August 2013|date=6 November 2009|archive-date=20 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020114156/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/11/178_55001.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Kim Hye-ja named best actress at Chinese film fest|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20091106000068|work=The Korea Herald|access-date=13 August 2013|date=6 November 2009|archive-date=23 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223104330/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20091106000068|url-status=live}}

rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | Grand Bell Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{nom}}

| rowspan="6" |[http://www.cinemasie.com/en/fiche/oeuvre/mother2009/recompenses.html "Mother - Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008155849/http://www.cinemasie.com/en/fiche/oeuvre/mother2009/recompenses.html |date=8 October 2024 }}. Cinemasie. Retrieved 13 August 2013.{{cite web|last=Han|first=Sang-hee|title=Grand Bell Film Fest Puzzles Movie Fans|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/11/141_55084.html|work=The Korea Times|access-date=18 November 2012|date=8 November 2009|archive-date=10 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310164110/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/11/141_55084.html|url-status=live}}

Best Director

|Bong Joon Ho

{{nom}}
Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{nom}}
Best Supporting Actor

|Jin Goo

{{won}}
Best Cinematography

|Hong Kyung-pyo

{{nom}}
Best Music

|Lee Byung-woo

{{nom}}
rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Korean Association of Film Critics Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{won}}

| rowspan="3" |

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}
Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{won}}
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Asia Pacific Screen Awards

|Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Ko|first=Jae-wan|title=Kim Hye-ja wins Best Actress at Asia Pacific awards|url=http://www.tenasia.com/archives/1030|website=10Asia|access-date=13 August 2013|date=27 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130813062319/http://www.tenasia.com/archives/1030|archive-date=13 August 2013}}

Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{nom}}

|

rowspan="8" style="text-align:center;" | Blue Dragon Film Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{won}}

| rowspan="8" |{{cite web|title=Mother Sweeps Blue Dragon Awards|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/12/03/2009120300683.html|work=The Chosun Ilbo|access-date=13 August 2013|date=3 December 2009|archive-date=7 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907180528/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/12/03/2009120300683.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Jessica|title=Mother wins Blue Dragon gold|url=http://www.tenasia.com/archives/1096|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703013851/http://www.tenasia.com/archives/1096|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2013|website=10Asia|access-date=13 August 2013|date=3 December 2009}}

Best Director

|Bong Joon Ho

{{nom}}
Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{nom}}
Best Supporting Actor

|Jin Goo

{{won}}
Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{nom}}
Best Cinematography

|Hong Kyung-pyo

{{nom}}
Best Lighting

|Choi Cheol-su, Park Dong-sun

{{won}}
Best Music

|Lee Byung-woo

{{nom}}
style="text-align:center;"| Mar del Plata Film Festival

|SIGNIS Award

| rowspan="2" |Mother

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Ko|first=Kyoung-seok|title=Mother wins award at Argentine film fest|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121513423652733|website=Asiae|access-date=13 August 2013|date=15 December 2009|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008155850/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121513423652733|url-status=live}}

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Dubai International Film Festival

|Best Film

| {{nom}}

|

Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{won}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Chicago International Film Festival

|Gold Hugo

|Bong Joon Ho

{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"| Women in Film Korea Awards

| rowspan="2" |Best Actress

| rowspan="2" |Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Ko|first=Kyoung-seok|title=Dir. Park Chan-ok named top female film figure of year|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121611543927281|website=Asiae|access-date=13 August 2013|date=16 December 2009|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008155857/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009121611543927281|url-status=live}}

style="text-align:center;"| Director's Cut Awards{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Lynn|title=Winners of Director's CUT Awards announced|url=http://www.tenasia.com/archives/1236|website=10Asia|access-date=13 August 2013|date=17 December 2009}}

style="text-align:center;"| Nikkan Sports Film Awards

|Best Foreign Picture

| rowspan="2" |Mother

{{won}}

|{{cite web|title=Mother named best foreign picture in Japan|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2009/12/30/34/0701000000AEN20091230001800315F.HTML|work=Yonhap|access-date=13 August 2013|date=30 December 2009|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008155849/https://en.yna.co.kr/|url-status=live}}

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | KOFRA Film Awards

|Best Film

{{won}}

| rowspan="2" |{{cite web|last=Ko|first=Kyoung-seok|title=Film journalists pick Song Kang-ho, Kim Hye-ja top actors|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010012815451319560|website=Asiae|access-date=13 August 2013|date=28 January 2010|archive-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422155458/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010012815451319560|url-status=live}}

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}
style="text-align:center;"| Santa Barbara International Film Festival

|Best East Meets West Cinema Award

| rowspan="2" |Mother

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Ko|first=Kyoung-seok|title=Korean film Mother wins award at Santa Barbara film fest|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010021808473162910|website=Asiae|access-date=13 August 2013|date=18 February 2010|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923223021/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010021808473162910|url-status=live}}

style="text-align:center;" | Independent Spirit Awards

|Best International Film

{{nom}}

|

rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | Asian Film Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{won}}

| rowspan="6" |{{cite web|last=Landreth|first=Jonathan|title=Mother tops Asian Film Awards|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mother-tops-asian-film-awards-21848|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=16 August 2013|date=22 March 2010|archive-date=4 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104094548/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mother-tops-asian-film-awards-21848|url-status=live}}

Best Director

|Bong Joon Ho

{{nom}}
Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}
Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{won}}
Best Supporting Actor

|Won Bin

{{nom}}
Best Editing

|Moon Sae-kyung

{{nom}}
rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;" | Baeksang Arts Awards

|Best Film

|Mother

{{nom}}

| rowspan="5" |

Best Director

|Bong Joon Ho

{{nom}}
Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{nom}}
Best Actor

|Won Bin

{{nom}}
Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{nom}}
rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | Green Planet Movie Awards

|Best Foreign Culture Film of the Year

|Mother

{{won}}

| rowspan="4" |{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Lynn|title=Korean pic Mother, stars win big at Green Planet Movie Awards|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010032513233783318|website=Asiae|access-date=13 August 2013|date=25 March 2010|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224854/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010032513233783318|url-status=live}}

Best International Director

|Bong Joon Ho

{{won}}
Best International Film

| rowspan="5" |Mother

{{won}}
Best International Drama (Asia){{won}}
style="text-align:center;"| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{won}}

|{{cite news|last=Morris|first=Wesley|title=Social Network is tops with Boston Society of Film Critics|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/12/13/social_network_is_tops_with_boston_society_of_film_critics/|work=Boston.com|access-date=16 August 2013|date=13 December 2010}}

style="text-align:center;"| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{draw|Runner-up}}

|{{cite web|last=Knegt|first=Peter|title=Social Network Tops San Francisco and Toronto Film Critics' Awards|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/social_network_tops_san_francisco_and_toronto_film_critics_awards|work=IndieWire|access-date=13 August 2013|date=14 December 2010|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008160237/https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/social-network-tops-san-francisco-and-toronto-film-critics-awards-244171/|url-status=live}}

style="text-align:center;"|Houston Film Critics Society

|Best Foreign Language Film

| {{nom}}

|

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

|Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Hyo-won|title=Kim Hye-ja named best actress by LA critics|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2012/08/141_77925.html|work=The Korea Times|access-date=13 August 2013|date=13 December 2010|archive-date=8 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008160347/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2012/08/141_77925.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Kim Hye-ja Wins Best Actress Award from L.A. Film Critics|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/14/2010121400321.html|work=The Chosun Ilbo|access-date=13 August 2013|date=14 December 2010|archive-date=4 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304112738/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/14/2010121400321.html|url-status=live}}

Best Foreign Language Film

| rowspan="3" |Mother

{{draw|Runner-up}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Chicago Film Critics Association

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{nom}}

|

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Online Film Critics Society Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{won}}

|

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}

|

style="text-align:center;"| San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

| rowspan="8" |Mother

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|title=Network scores with San Fran critics|url=https://variety.com/2010/film/news/network-scores-with-san-fran-critics-1118028981/|work=Variety|access-date=13 August 2013|date=13 December 2010|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092817/http://variety.com/2010/film/news/network-scores-with-san-fran-critics-1118028981/|url-status=live}}

style="text-align:center;"|Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association

|Best Foreign Language Film

| {{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;" | San Diego Film Critics Society

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Satellite Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

|{{won}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Women Film Critics Circle

|Best Foreign Film by or About Women

|{{won}}

|

rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | IndieWire Critics Poll

|Best Film

{{draw|8th place}}

|

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{draw|5th place}}

|

Best Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{draw|5th place}}

|

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Village Voice Film Poll

|Best Film

|Mother

|{{draw| 8th place}}

|

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{draw|3rd place}}

|

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Munich International Film festival

|Best International Film (ARRI/OSRAM Award)

| rowspan="6" |Mother

{{won}}

|

Best International Film (Arri-Zeiss-Award)

|{{won}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Saturn Awards

|Best International Film

{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards

|Best Foreign Language Film

{{won}}

|{{cite web|last=Hong|first=Lucia|title=Mother receives honor by Kansas City Film Critics Circle|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011010716071780140|website=Asiae|access-date=13 August 2013|date=7 January 2011|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040658/http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011010716071780140|url-status=live}}

style="text-align:center;"| Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics

|Grand Prix

{{nom}}

|

rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | Chlotrudis Awards

|Best Movie

| {{nom}}

|

Best Director

|Bong Joon Ho

{{nom}}

|

Best Actress

|Kim Hye-ja

{{won}}

|

Best Original Screenplay

|Bong Joon Ho, Park Eun-kyo

{{won}}

|

rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Alliance of Women Film Journalists

|Best Non-English Language Film

| rowspan="9" |Mother

{{nom}}

|

Cultural Crossover Award

| {{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Central Ohio Film Critics Association

| rowspan="4" |Best Foreign Language Film

| {{won}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Denver Film Critics Society

|{{won}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Gold Derby Awards{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|Vancouver Film Critics Circle{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;" | International Cinephile Society

|Best Film Not in the English Language

|{{draw| 7th place}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)

|Best Non-English Language Film

|{{nom}}

|

style="text-align:center;"|NAACP Image Awards

|Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture

| {{nom}}

|

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{wikiquote}}

  • {{official website|http://www.motherfilm.com/}}
  • {{kmdb film|10170|Mother}}
  • {{IMDb title|1216496|Mother}}
  • {{hancinema film|Mother_-_2009|Mother}}
  • {{Mojo title|mother2010|Mother}}
  • {{Metacritic film|title=Mother}}
  • {{Rotten-tomatoes|madeo|Mother}}

{{Bong Joon Ho}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Mother

|list =

{{Asian Film Award for Best Film}}

{{Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Film}}

{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}

{{Buil Film Awards for Best Film}}

{{Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Foreign Film}}

{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}

{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}

}}

{{South Korean submissions for the Academy Award}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mother}}

Category:2009 films

Category:South Korean neo-noir films

Category:2009 crime drama films

Category:2000s Korean-language films

Category:2000s South Korean films

Category:Asian Film Award for Best Film winners

Category:Best Picture Blue Dragon Film Award winners

Category:Films about intellectual disability

Category:Films about mother–son relationships

Category:Films directed by Bong Joon-ho

Category:Films set in South Korea

Category:Films with screenplays by Bong Joon-ho

Category:South Korean crime drama films

Category:South Korean independent films

Category:South Korean mystery films

Category:South Korean thriller films