Dementia has played a significant part in South Korean cinema across genres, with works like “A Moment to Remember” using it in a romance drama setting and “Memoirs of a Murderer” using it as a plot device for a serial killer story, to give but two examples. Debutant director Lee Sang-hak too uses the illness in his first work, albeit this time for a uniquely treated thriller called “Mother’s Kingdom”, which premiered in competition at the Jeonju Film Festival earlier this year.
Mother’s Kingdom is released by Finecut
Joo Kyung-hee lives with her adult son Doh Ji-wook. Joo, a hairdresser is a well-known and liked person in the community whereas Ji-wook is an author of an appreciated self-help book called “Power of the Truth”. In their household, since Ji-wook was a little boy, Kyung-hee has set a number of rules that her son must follow, chief among which is not asking after his absent father. In fact, he doesn’t remember much about his childhood and even less about his father. However, when his mother has an onslaught of early dementia and her memory begins to fail her, Ji-wook sets out to find the memory he has lost and find out what happened to his father, who his uncle Doh Joong-myung, a pastor, is also trying to find clues about.
Lee Sang-hak chooses to work off his own script, which approaches the thriller in a very understated, slow-burn manner, taking its time to set up its kingdom. Throughout this, it carries a tense undercurrent that threatens to burst out at any given moment, but Lee exercises restraint, instead choosing to keep the atmosphere chilling with dialogues and tight moments shared between the characters. This is helped largely by the performances of both Nam Ki-ae and Han Ki-jung as mother and son respectively. The veteran actress’s portrayal, where you’re not really sure if she means what she is saying with such conviction but is clearly hiding many secrets, helps keep the mood suspenseful.
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The restraint ultimately gives way in the final third, as secrets that the characters have kept for decades finally start to be revealed. Despite a shift in the tone here, it is to the director’s credit that this change doesn’t feel sudden or drastic, because of how gradually and organically it transitions. What do come as surprising are some sudden moments near the end that couldn’t be misplace in a horror film. Han Ki-jung’s work is particularly impressive in this latter section of the narrative, going from the confused son trying to piece together his memories to a man willing to lie and hide secrets to protect his family. In a role that could’ve easily ended up being theatrical, Han shows good composure to reel it in and keep it measured.
The predictability of the reveals might prove bothersome to few, but more importantly, the core issue with these revelations is one that the writing cannot or refuses to solve. Ji-wook is supposed to have forgotten his father, despite the climax revealing that he was clearly of an age where he should have easily remembered. Why his memories of that time are missing is something that is never cleared up. This is particularly problematic when the main conflict of the narrative is the son trying to find his memories as his mother’s deteriorate. Alternatively, the conflict within Doh Joong-myung is well-written and the use of his puppet to let out his inner narration is an interesting and effective touch. Yet another tv stalwart, Yoo Sung-joo has some of the better scenes of the feature as Joong-myung, not least the ventriloquism ones, which he carries well as the brother looking for clues about his brother.
The editing also plays a big part in the production’s appeal, as a lot of the reveals come not with dialogues or extended showcasing but with quick insert cuts and short transitions that give just enough information without ever over-explaining, leaving a lot of blanks for the audience to fill in convincingly. Coupled with the cinematography, which seems to loose brightness as Kyung-hee looses her memories and darkens as Ji-woo gains his, it works to set the atmosphere of the thriller perfectly.
“Mother’s Kingdom” may not have won at the Jeonju Film Festival, but it is a fine feature that makes up for its narrative shortcomings with the mood it creates and maintains, including flirting with horror in a couple instances, and a winning trio of central performances.
