Mother and Vincere

Today I had the opportunity to see two excellent foreign films. Although these two films are very different they have in common fantastic female lead performances.

Mother is directed by Joon-ho Bong and is from Korea. The story seems to be a simple one but it is anything but. The unnamed Mother (Hye-Ja Kim) owns a flower/herb shop and she does acupuncture. That is how she makes her modest living. She is always worried about her son Yoon Do-joon (Bin Won). He is a little simple. Mother and son have an abnormally close relationship. When a young schoolgirl is murdered Yoon is immediately convicted as the murderer. Mother does not believe this and she will go all out to prove that he is innocent. Oh, and she really does.

Mother is a most intriguing thriller. It has many twists and turns and it keeps you guessing until the end. And Ms. Kim is just amazing as the Mother.

Vincere (which means win) is completely different but just as good. It is from Italy and directed by Marco Bellocchio (I have see a few of his films and like his style). This film is the story of Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) who many said was Benito Mussolini's (Filippo Timi) first wife. It was obvious from the start that she was more in love than he was. She got him on his feet. They were supposedly married and she later gave birth to his son Benito Albino. But at some point things fell apart and he married another woman. Ida did not take this sitting down. She let everybody know that she was Mussolini's wife. But there were never any papers found that stated that fact. Eventually she is sent to a mental institution. And when Benito Albino is older he is sent to one as well.

Vincere is a beautifully shot, old fashioned type of sweeping foreign film. I love the way Bellocchio intersperses old footage into the film. Mezzogiorno is outstanding as Ida. And Timo is terrific as Mussolini and Benito Albino as an adult. This film gives us a real sense of history and shows how Mussolini went to believing in one thing (Socialism) and then turning his back on that for Fascism).

Both Kim and Mezzogiorno give performances that are worthy of Oscar nominations. But we know that will not happen. It is too bad because these are two of the best performances of the year so far. I highly recommend that you see these two films. If you can't see them at the theater then rent them or see them on cable (or movies on demand).