Magnolia picks up The Host director’s latest thriller

Kim Hye-ja in a scene from Mother
Kim Hye-ja in a scene from Mother

Magnolia Pictures announced that it has nabbed North American distribution rights to The Host (Gwoemul) director Bong Joon-Ho’s latest film Mother (Madeo), which debuted at Cannes earlier this year to rave reviews. Gearing up for a Bong Joon-ho retrospective, the studio also acquired Barking Dogs Never Bite, Bong’s 2000 debut which was previously unreleased in the U.S.

Mother is a unique thriller about a mother’s primal love for her son. It stars Kim Hye-ja as a mother who throws herself body and soul into proving the innocence of her son who she believes to be wrongly accused of murder. The Korean selection for this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Mother continues its prestigious run on the festival circuit this fall—it is an official selection in both the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. Magnolia plans on releasing the film theatrically sometime in the early part of 2010.

Barking Dogs Never Bite is a dark comedy about an out-of-work college professor driven mad by the sound of barking dogs in his apartment building, eventually resorting to kidnapping them. The film is described as a must-see for Ho’s fans, as it has hints of things to come with his later work, especially The Host.