Mother

Chaotic, complex, and eye-opening.

First things first - watching this film was an experience. I thought that I was watching a documentary rather than a film - this is probably influenced by the fact that this is based on true events. I got sucked into its delivery and realism which was quite heavy to take in. If you aren't used to watching heavily-themed films, then this will be a difficult one to watch.

MOTHER reminds me of a Nojima Shinji kind-of story wherein the 'negative sides' of humanity, the complexities of human relationships, are laid bare. They aren't shown in a showy manner but as they are - dirty, difficult to comprehend, and even psychotic. The relationship between Akiko (the mother) and Shuhei (the son) is anything but what society sees as acceptable, yet to the latter, it is his norm and accepted reality. This film isn't just about murder, abuse, and casual sex - it's also about how twisted 'love' can be, how manipulation and violence can play heavily into a person's sense of dependency and reliance, and how things aren't always understandable on the surface, especially one of a relationship between a mother and son who have been together all their lives, one that's for better or for worse.

Impressive acting by the cast, especially by Nagasawa Masami - a natural, I must say - and Okudaira Daiken, whose eyes and expressions tell more than what he says. Hats off to Gunji Sho's Shuhei as well. The story moves from one timeline to another yet with consistency that doesn't leave you completely hanging. The music and the silence came in at the right times, adding to the heavy atmosphere that the film has.
If you're looking for a film that's gonna make you feel blissful, this is not that. MOTHER is gonna leave you with thoughts to ponder on and with an ending that doesn't inspire - it's simply a naked cut.

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Mother isn't movie only about parental abuse but a also a story about psycho mother who loves entertaining herself with poisonous men. Rather than "slice of life" story, it's telling more toxic relationship between them. The level of cruelty of a mother who only thinks about herself.
My heart is breaking every scenes her children had to move to another places, get involved with debt collectors and waiting for her psycho mother.
It's really hard to imagine children needs to go through manipulating, cruelty and abusive mother that he will never abandon her.
The great performance from Nagasawa Masami and Okudaira Daiken told the audience how wild and chaotic the movie is; not to mention the audience couldn't stand to watch it.
I remember once said on Shoplifters "You can't choose your own parents" and the director told us by that love is somehow default. she will never give him his own space and her son will always part of her.


Overall, this movie is the most sickening and depressing no moral values at all.

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Toxic codependency and domestic abuse

“Mother” was based on a true story, and I believe it was worse in real life. I think this is an important movie to raise awareness about domestic abuse. Toxic parenting can destroy a person's life. I have no sympathy for the mother in this movie. Please don't give birth or raise a kid if you are not ready to be a responsible parent. A child doesn’t ask to be born into this world.

This review is to comfort myself after watching this disturbing and depressing movie. Besides sexual and violent content, it is full of psychological abusive, controlling and manipulative behaviors towards children.

The real-life Kawaguchi, Saitama case happened in 2014 when a seventeen-year-old boy stabbed his maternal grandparents to death and stole their money after being isolated, neglected, abused and manipulated by his biographical mother. So this story was set from the 1990s to 2010s. As we have seen from the movie, the mother had been isolating her son from other people who were trying to help him, ordering her son around to buy stuff for her, to steal stuff, and to lie to others to ask for their money, and in the end she solicited him to murder her own parents for their money. She didn’t allow him to go to school or make any friends. As for the mother, she never worked to support her children and was even addicted to sex and gambling, and casually had sex with different men in front of her children. No child who grew up in such an environment would have a healthy mental state.

I don’t think this movie is about a son’s unconditional love towards his mother. He protected his mother till the end because he had no one else to rely on in his life, because his mother had been isolating him from the whole world, so that she could easily control her son’s life and order him around since he was very young. The mother did everything to keep her son co-dependent on her, just like how she was co-dependent on other people around her. It’s so heartbreaking to hear what the son said at the last moment that his mother could never make it on her own. Toxic codependency is harmful.

From what I have researched, the law in Japan was much different back in the days. Parents had a lot of rights as legal guardians of their children. Social workers did not have the right to call the police or separate a child from their mother even if they wanted to rescue them, because it was considered a 'domestic matter'. They have changed the law a lot up to now. I'm not sure if the 2014 incident had any influence in this matter. I think the female social worker, who was played by Kaho, really cared about the boy. I could see her efforts in trying to help the children in every way she could at that time, but she had no actual power to totally rescue them in that situation. As for other people, I believe it’s realistic and fair to say that they didn’t truly care about the child as he wasn’t their own son. Even his real-life father didn’t give a damn about his son either, after he became too fed up with his ex-wife.

Even nowadays, I think these kinds of toxic parents still exist, in a lot of Asian countries. I’m not sure if it has also been happening anywhere else outside Asia. A lot of parents give birth to their children expecting them to grow up on their own and later to provide and take care of them when they get older. Their children are considered their assets and their life insurance. They can neglect, beat and abuse their children on a regular basis, and their children are not allowed to feel bad about it, but have to be grateful to them for bringing them into this life instead. To be more specific, Asian culture has the concept of filial piety as one of the key moral values for the people. This concept is a significant cultural and ethical principle primarily rooted in traditional Confucianism and other religions in Asia, emphasizing the duties and respect that children owe to their parents and ancestors. In a lot of Asian societies including mine, many old-fashioned people still believe that our bodies and our lives don't belong to ourselves but to our parents, so our parents have the rights to do everything on our bodies and control our lives. That’s why they tell us what haircut or clothes we must wear and even try to control our lives when we are adults. One would be socially considered an unfilial child if they disobey their parents, even as an adult. If one doesn’t get married and give birth, they would also be considered an unfilial child to their parents. Even if one commit suicide, whatever the reason might be, not only they would lose their own life, they would also be criticized as an unfilial child. Suicide is considered one of the biggest sins that a child commit towards their parents, as people believe children’s bodies belong to their parents. Parents give birth to their children, so children owe them their whole life. It is believed that children owe everything to their parents and even if a child spends their whole life paying them back, that would not be considered enough. If you watch enough Asian historical dramas, you will understand this concept more deeply. I think it can be a toxic excuse for parents to control and manipulate their children in different ways.

In my opinion, due to this concept of filial piety which has been socially accepted in a lot of Asian societies, other people would not interfere too much, even the police, because it’s considered a domestic matter and it’s ‘my children, my way of discipline’. As someone who grew up with Asian parents, I feel deeply painful to witness these situations and sometimes I also feel so useless when I cannot help them. In these societies, parents are given a lot of rights. They can beat and insult their children regularly as a way of ‘disciplining’ them, and other people tend to ignore it, or have to ignore it. I think that’s also what happened in this movie. Hopefully things will be changed for the better for our future generations.

Anyway, the real-life son is still in prison now. As far I know, after he went to jail, he was finally able to learn and acknowledge a lot of things that he had never experienced before when living with his mom. He also started to care a lot about children's rights and he often writes letters to encourage other children. Some of his letters were turned into songs. The real-life female social worker, who was played by Kaho in this movie, also cares a lot about the boy’s life. As for the little sister, she was later adopted by a good family and has changed her identity. I’m praying for the boy and his sister’s happiness. I think he’s already become a grown up man in prison now.

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Masterpiece

The story is tragic, heavy, disturbing yet pure and raw in so many levels.. It showed how motherhood can effect an innocent kids life.. Felt painful watching throughout the movie but it held my attention all the time

Nagasawa Masami and Okudaira Daiken totally outstanding portrayed the roles as mother and son..Toxic, miserably relationship between mother and son yet heartbreaking and traumatic..

Another ugly side of society they try to brings out with excellent cast, acting and plot.. Hats off to the whole team...It was fine of art.. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Glorifying bad mothers

I'd rate 0, but I pity gave it a 1 star because the cinematography was really well done. And the acting was not bad. But knowing 'moms', and myself having to help raise a child that had a mom like this.. this entire movie, two hours, of showing these 'deep' awful story of this worse off mom. I feel no pity at all for her. Mental illness's yes, but that's no excuse for any of this. Even for a movie/story.
Why does the social worker not call the police during the physical abuse? Why is NOBODY really helping? It's a bit drab for all the men finding the family to just suddenly go, 'Hey yeah I wanna do this not stable and terrible mother!' Seriously? Even the good natured construction guy? It felt so forced and not in character.
It almost felt traumatic for my husband and I to watch. It's not worth watching. There is no good in this film. It's 2021 and we're tired. I don't want to relive traumatic memories for the sake of a story or to give some sort of deep meaning. (Spoilers. It's a sh*tty mom who never gets into any trouble or any repercussions from her actions for the entire duration.)

I was hoping this movie would have gone differently, maybe even at least informative about abuse situations. But it's not. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

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A raw glimpse into the reality of child abuse

I thoroughly hated every single second of this movie. Which is why, despite rarely writing reviews, I had to write this one.
I hated this movie with a passion. And that's what makes it so good. The direction of this movie perfectly captures the feeling of domestic abuse. This has to be the slowest movie I've watched in my entire life. Painfully slow. Which is exactly the point... and anyone who understands what it's like to be abused as a child knows it all too well. You think that a 2 hour movie is long? Imagine how long and insufferable every day in Shuhei's life was. Imagine being a kid and every single second you're wondering how much more you have left of this. Shuhei spends his whole life waiting for something to happen, for something to change, for a happy ending, knowing it'll never come. The pure frustration I felt with every stagnant moment of this movie is welcome.

The movie also perfectly highlights the possessive and yet contradictory nature of neglective parents. Shuhei's mother spends her entire motherhood either exploiting Shuhei or ignoring his existence completely. And yet, whenever her parenting is criticised or custody of her children is threatened, she repeatedly says that "They're my children.". Even after she forces Shuhei into prison and her daughter gets taken, she continues to echo this line. Perfectly sums up how abusers don't actually love their kids or value their lives but rather value the control that they have over them. For an abusive adult with insecurities, asserting dominance over and exploiting their children for personal gain is the only thing that makes them feel in control in their own lives. And yet this sentiment is often masked with phrases such as "They're my children" and "I gave birth to them" and "I can raise them how I want", all of which are said in the movie. This is the reality of child abuse - an issue that is so often hidden under the power of ownership and the guise of parental choice.

The real hitter comes when you see Shuhei grow up and yet nothing has changed. The time skip with no warning, only to see Shuhei and his sister on the streets leaves the audience feeling even more hopeless than before. Shuhei's obedience to his mother intentionally makes us feel both anger and pity. It leaves the viewer restless and frustrated, asking ourselves "Why can't he just say no?". But the movie answers the question before you can even ask it. Same thing with Shuhei's infuriatingly bland character. Shuhei lacks all personality and rarely speaks. The drawn out silences and the blank expressions that fill the screen every time it's on him leave you desperate for him to say something, so that we as the audience can get to know who he is and see more of his "personality", but we never do. This movie doesn't sell a story, it sells reality. The reality being that child abuse goes beyond childhood. The reality is that children who are abused, manipulated and isolated from society don't have the opportunity to develop into functioning adults who can stand up for themselves or even have a sense of identity. We see this so many times throughout the movie as Shuhei's mother trains him, almost like a dog, to only follow the commands of adults. We see it again when Aya (the social worker) asks Shuhei what his dream is and he says he doesn't know.

I love the mirroring between Aya and Shuhei's characters. Aya grew up in an abusive household but managed to overcome it all, growing up to become a social worker. I would argue that the climax of this whole movie isn't even Shuhei murdering his grandma. The climax of this movie is when Shuhei asks sheepishly if he can stay behind to attend school instead of going on the run with his mum and "stepdad" for the 100th time. This brief and calm moment in the movie is, in my opinion, the most exciting. As a viewer, it's the moment you've been waiting for the whole time. The moment of change. Only to be mercilessly let down as Shuhei's first stance of individuality is brutally shut down. It is a small moment in the movie but a big moment for Shuhei's character and, most importantly, it puts hope into the viewer's hearts only to rip it away seconds later. This is the reality of child abuse. This is the frustration and emotional whiplash that you should feel while watching this. And it shows that Aya's (and the demographic of society that she represents) efforts to change the course of Shuhei's life can't outdo the impact of his childhood training and his mother's ongoing abuse.

The setting is also great. Shuhei's mother denies him the opportunity to go to school, for the entirety of his upbringing. Almost every scene takes place in a cramped and cluttered room, making the viewer feel suffocated. Those tiny rooms were Shuhei's whole world, only occupied by him, his mum, her occasional lovers and the trash surrounding him. The feeling of second-hand claustrophobia and suffocation pushed onto the audience in every scene is one of my favourite aspects of the movie. Again, those who have been abused know this feeling all too well. It's like there isn't a world outside the tiny house where your abuser keeps you. Another great use of direction to show this feeling is in the American show "Maid" where the woman being abused is slowly swallowed by the couch she sleeps on.

The only reason I gave this show 7.5 is because there are a few things that don't add up to me. I don't understand why his mum told him to kill his grandma for money. Didn't the grandma say that she was disowning her? But, assuming the mum can still somehow claim inheritance: I'm assuming that the plan is that Shuhei murders her and then takes all the blame so that his mum can live freely with the inheritance. The issue is that none of this is really explained clearly so the ending ends up being a bit confusing when first watching. I also don't understand why his mother only lost custody of his younger sister after he was put in prison.

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Background of MOTHER

I’ll help you sort this un-Google-able movie-title hell. The new 2020 Netflix film Mother is Japanese director Tatsushi Ohmori’s story about a young boy’s loyalty to his delinquent, abusive mother. Darren Aronofsky’s wildly, wonderfully disorienting mother! (2017), identifiable by that exclamation point, puts poor Jennifer Lawrence at the center of a hurricane of her husband’s — and the world’s? — madness. And Bong Joon Ho’s grossly overlooked Mother (2009) is a flipped-script version of Ohmori’s film; it’s about a mother’s loyalty being tested when her son is accused of murder. Are they all worth watching? For sure. Are they all extraordinary? REVIEW SPOILER ALERT: Yes! Akiko (Masami Nagasawa) who is a single mother and her son is Shuhei (Sho Gunji). Akiko casually has sex with other men, including Ryo (Sadao Abe). Akiko is the only person whom Shuhei can rely on. One day, Shuhei makes a shocking decision. Shuhei's erratic mother feels threatened when he starts to awaken to a world beyond her distorted control, sending the family hurtling toward tragedy.

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🌻Holi, ¿Cómo están?🌻 Hoy les traigo la reseña de una película japonesa que vi hace poco: Mother (Lazos de sangre).

Basada en un hecho real, Mother nos cuenta la historia de Shuein, un niño que crece con una madre alcohólica, problemática, que constantemente está utilizando a su hijo para conseguir dinero para subsistir.

De manera realista y cruda, la película nos muestra que las relaciones tóxicas no son solo las relaciones de pareja. Vemos cómo Shuein, desde que es pequeño, pasa por muchas cosas a raíz de la relación insana que tiene con su madre; cosas como dormir en la calle, dejar la escuela y ver situaciones violentas son moneda común en su vida. A pesar de que nuestro protagonista sabe que no es una buena vida, es capaz de hacer lo que sea con tal de seguir con su madre.

Realmente hay escenas que te ponen los pelos de punta y te hacen sentir muy incómodo, a tal punto que uno quiere que nuestro protagonista salga corriendo de ahí y empiece una nueva vida lejos de su madre.

Los actores también destacan mucho. Okudaira Daiken y Nagasawa Masami hacen una actuación increíble. Transmiten muchísimo en su performance y te hacen olvidar por dos horas que lo que estás viendo es algo actuado.

Eso sí, a pesar de haberme gustado mucho, siento que la película falla en algo, y es en desarrollar un poco más la personalidad de la madre, la motivación para ser como es, el sentimiento tiene por sus hijos... lo único que nos muestran de ella es lo problemática y manipuladora que es y no mucho más. Por otro lado, Shuein está muy bien desarrollado, y vemos perfectamente los conflictos internos que tiene entre hacer lo que quiere hacer y hacer lo que su madre quiere o lo que siente que es lo mejor para su madre.

Otra cosa que me generó un poco de conflicto, es que siento que la peli tiene algunos problemas de edición, ya que los cortes de escena y las transiciones de una a otra, a veces parecen un poco bruscos. No sé si será así a propósito (como para generar más inestabilidad e incomodidad) y yo no lo entendí, o si es que quien lo editó fue medio desprolijo en algunos cortes.

Si quieren más reseñas sin spoiler, síganos en instagram @altoplottwist

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