Mother came first, but this is the opposite of Poetry, 2010 film. Both films deal with similar themes, but this film is thoroughly dystopian while remaining rooted in the here & now instead of a futuristic scenario of unleashed epic disaster. Is the film objectively good, beautiful to view & committed to a particular vision? Yes, but did I enjoy it? Not at all. If you are familiar with Joon-ho Bong’s films, Memories of Murder and The Host, you will not be surprised in how it is dissatisfying, but he provides more answers and resolution in Mother than his other films, which is what made it so much harder to stomach. I’m not the kind of person who normally needs a movie to have everything resolved in a just or satisfying way. Sometimes I even enjoy when a film unrelentingly commits to the harsh lens, but there was something so jarring about the peaceful environment and the roiling emotional people who inhabit it and constantly make a mess that made me want to escape them. I think that the film is a success, but I think that successful portrayal of our world is too sad to enjoy.