In the last couple of days, a number of people have asked what I thought of the Oscars, and the truth is that I didn't much care who won or lost. There are years when I have a dog in the fight — I was pulling for the Coens and for the duo from Once last year — but this wasn't one of them. In the documentary and foreign-language film categories, where the films could most benefit from the recognition, most of the worthy contenders were knocked out by the Academy's nominating process. Now if Bong Joon-Ho's Mother had made it to the final round, then I'd have had something to root for. Best known for the eccentric creature feature The Host, and beloved by fans of South Korean cinema for Memories of Murder and Barking Dogs Never Bite — Bong is a difficult artist to categorize. His films constantly shift shape, and the latest is no exception. It begins as the story of a desperate mother (Kim Hye-Ja) embarking on a desperate quest to clear her retarded son of a murder he did not commit. But no sooner has it established itself as a kind of off-kilter policier than the film begins to shift again, becoming a story of obsessive love and the dark side of maternal instinct. The movie is platforming across the country, opening in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, in Philadelphia March 19, so keep an eye out for it. I talked to Bong for the Onion A.V. Club, and although our interview was conducted over the phone and through a translator, we managed to hit it off despite the layers of mediation. One caveat, which was excised from my introduction: Bong freely discusses several plot twists, so if you like to have your surprises preserved, bookmark and come back later.
