Bong Joon-ho on the making of 'Mother'

Tom Huddleston talks to South Korea's premiere genre mash-up artist about his new film, 'Mother'

Bong Joon-ho, whose ‘Mother’ opens this week, is one of the leading lights of South Korean film. The 40-year-old director rose to prominence with true-crime thriller ‘Memories of Murder’ (2003) before achieving worldwide fame with fanboy favourite ‘The Host’ in 2006. His latest film is a fusion of Hollywood melodrama, crime thriller and satire, in which Korean TV actress Kim Hye-ja plays a woman obsessed with clearing her son’s name.

What was the initial idea for ‘Mother’?
‘Normally you write the screenplay first, then decide who will play the roles. But with “Mother” it was different. I was really keen to work with Kim Hye-ja, so I developed the story with her in mind. The actress was the seed of the film.’

And Kim Hye-ja is very well known in Korea as an actress?
‘Kim has been the mother figure, an icon of maternity in Korea for several decades. When shooting a film with her you can’t avoid dealing with the theme of maternity. This makes Kim not only the main actress but also the central theme of the film.’

So did you tell her early on you were writing a film for her?
‘I told her the storyline of “Mother” back in 2004. I worried a lot because this movie would not work if she declined.  Fortunately, she liked the story and said she would take the role. When I showed her a full script in 2008, she said how much she liked the mystery and the dreamy atmosphere. She also said she felt that something more was hidden in the character and she would work to show more than was in my script.’

It’s a complex story. Was it tough to map out?
‘I like to draw my storyboards myself. I also try to decide on the locations in advance so that I have some feeling or understanding about those spaces when I’m working on the storyboard. Space, as well as character, is very important to me. I precisely design the position and movement of the camera. But actors are human beings, unlike cameras or lights. When they show me unexpected stuff, that’s when I’m happiest. Of course, at times I ask them to act in certain ways, but the best moments are when actors surprise me, when they use their own instinct. I love improvisation and I try to accommodate them, to change the lines according to the mood of the scene.’

I understand you’re working on a sci-fi film. What can you say about that?
‘“Le Transperceneige” [literally, “The Snow Piercer”] is based on a French graphic novel, which I have adapted into a screenplay. It’s produced by Park Chan-wook’s production company.’

You’ve done detective stories and horror, and now sci-fi. Are there any other genres you’d like to tackle?
‘I have a complex feeling about genre. I love it, but I hate it at the same time. I have the urge to make audiences thrill with the excitement of a genre, but I also try to betray and destroy the expectations placed on that genre. However, to be frank, I’m not conscious of the genre itself every time I work. My favourite genre lies inside myself, and as I follow my favourite stories, characters and images, it sums up to a certain genre. So at times even I have to try to guess which genre a film will be after I’ve made it.’

Read our review of 'Mother'

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