Korean Screenwriter and Director Bong Joon-Ho reflected on his own mommy dearest as audiences previewed his latest work, “Mother,” at the Landmark Theater Tuesday night.
He admits that the film’s lead, a mother who fights to protect her son from a murder accusation, might mirror some of his own mother’s best – and worst – qualities.
“I wanted to bring out the psychotic-ness of mothers,” said Joon-Ho through translation. “They can react like wounded animals when they are protecting their babies.”
Joon-Ho explained that his mother was “nervous and always worried about me, anticipating things that hadn’t even happened yet.”
But he’s not sure if Mom would have gone to the lengths through which he put his main character.
“The majority of audiences in Korea say they would respond in the same way [as the Mother],” says Joon-Ho. “So there must be some truth to it.”
*A version of this post is available on Niteside.
