In this edition of the Filmdogs double feature, Mr. Holt and myself will be recommending two films from an extremely supreme filmmaker. The man in question is Joon-ho Bong. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Bong is an expert in his field and only has four feature films under his belt. The two we will be recommending are the monster movie extravaganza The Host, and the maternal revenge flick Mother.

Mr. Jason – The Host (2006)

Director Joon-ho Bong caused quite a splash (bad pun?) with his 2006 family drama/monster epic The Host. Combining elements from different genres, The Host is able to transcend it’s creature feature roots and offer something with emotional resonance and cinematic purpose.

The plot is simple enough. Due to the unauthorized dumping of formaldehyde down a drainage system that leads to the Han River, a mutant creature is born. Running rapid and possibly caring a disease, the creature abducts a little girl and leads her family on a quest to find her alive and bring her home.

The emotional anchor of the film is Park Gang-du and his family. One of the best scenes in the film comes early on, and does not contain the monster. Grappling with the loss of a loved one the family rolls around on the floor screaming with agony for a huge light in their life that has gone out. The scene is so rich and well executed that it brilliantly blurs the line between the morbidly funny and the devastatingly depressing.

The film also does a great job of homaging the films of the genre that have come before; most notably Jaws. However, Bong does not hide his creature in the mirky water. He lets it out in full force allowing the audience to take part of the carnage it creates, and accept it’s odd physical presence. The pacing is great, the cinematography is stunning, and the characters are fleshed out human beings that we truly care about. As I said last double feature, if you haven’t seen this film… see it. If you have seen it… see it again.

Mr. Holt – Mother (2009)

Under all of Mother‘s many trappings lies, what seems to be, a fairly straightforward mystery film involving a simple-minded man accused of murder and his mother, who searches for the evidence that will set him free. We follow Mother as she does her amateur detective work, uncovers, learns, and tries to put the pieces together. Mother loves her simple son and is willing to do anything, anything, to exonerate him.

Mother is a difficult film to critique. Not because it’s plot is overly complicated, but because it’s tones are so drastically different from American films of the same genre. The most obvious element, and the one I appreciate the most, is the intentionally, unintentional true-to-life humor… if that makes any sense. It captures and examines the little quirky obscurities of life and human nature as well as anything I can remember. Mother is always, or tries to always be, there to hold her son’s hand and get him out of whatever he, or his slightly manipulative though well meaning friend, has gotten in to.

All of the characters, especially Mother, but even the throw away ones,as well, are all very genuine and completely believable. Most of the son’s humor comes from his innocence and the misinterpretation of him by others. Mother, the only name she’s given, has a brilliant fire in her eyes when she talks about her son. The scene where she defends him to the family of the murder victim is impressive to watch. She never falters in his defense, even when physically assaulted.

See this movie. You may not like foreign/subtitled films, as they’re generically labeled, but South Korea has something with Bong and his films that we just don’t get in this hemisphere. And, of course, when he gets bigger you’ll be able to say you saw his earlier stuff and feel special.