“Mother”’s mother-son pair at film press conference

Aww, how sweet.

The majority of photos coming out of the April 27 press conference for the film Mother [마도] are focused on Won Bin — but you can’t really blame the press, because it has been so freaking long since he has been in the spotlight, and fans have been waiting for years for him to make his onscreen comeback.

Add to that his well-loved co-star, veteran actress Kim Hye-ja, and the return of film director Bong Jun-ho after making a huge splash with 2006’s The Host, and you’ve got the year’s most-anticipated film. (Well, most-anticipated next to Park Chan-wook’s Thirst, which is probably the only other film to challenge Mother for that distinction. Both Mother and Thirst have been accepted to screen at Cannes Film Festival this year, incidentally.)

(Also, not only has it been a long while since Won Bin has been in the spotlight, it’s also been ages that he’s looked so smiling and happy. It’s kind of a relief, actually.)

The movie’s production press conference was held at 11am in Seoul, in advance of its May 28 theatrical release.

The film portrays a mother’s quest to clear her simple-minded but pure-hearted son after he is wrongly accused of a murder. As the titular mother, Kim Hye-ja (who most recently won an acting Daesang for last year’s drama series Mom’s Dead Upset) said of her costar: “Won Bin is an actor who will be great.”

She also described him as courteous and quiet, giving her “a really good first impression.” His character in the film is mentally handicapped, but she explained that “to his mother, he isn’t lacking at all.”

Meanwhile, director Bong Jun-ho addressed the constant comparisons that Mother draws to Thirst, Oldboy director Park Chan-wook’s new movie (although the plots are nothing alike, since the latter is a vampire horror film). Bong said, “It’s an honor for me, but it’s possible that director Park Chan-wook dislikes it. He debuted almost eight years before I did and is ten years older.” He joked, drawing a soccer comparison, “If I’m of Park Ji-sung’s generation, director Park is of Choi Sun-ho’s.”

Bong went on to praise Thirst, saying, “I saw Thirst at the preview screening. Needless to say, it’s a great masterpiece. It doesn’t need any further description.”

Via as tagged, OSEN, Asia Economy