All this movie is missing is the country standard "No Charge" playing over the end credits. The song where a mother professes her love for her son by saying "when you add it all up, the full cost of my love is no charge". Well, QED, we have an example of that here in the character of Hye-Ja. A poor woman living with her mentally retarded son, for whom both are the entire world to each other, this hardscrabble existence is monkey-wrenched when her retarded son is found guilty of murdering a young girl.

This movie plays like the evil twin of a Susan Sarandon issues picture, in which a plucky stouthearted heroine fights social injustice. One can imagine the Hollywood remake with Sarandon, directed by Tim Robbins in the works. However, this is far darker, subtler and Noirish. From a tender and heartbreaking examination of motherly love, it morphs into a movie that raises questions of class and justice in modern Korea.

Shattering, funny, dark and sad. This is a good one.