‘Mother Land’ Movie Review [Fantasia 2023]: A Warm-Hearted Slice of Stop-Motion Animation
Photo from Fantasia International Film Festival
From Jeff Nelson
Mother Land marks the first Korean stop-motion animated film in almost half a century, embracing a visually-rich world that deserves greater exploration. Writer/director Park Jae-beom tackles a tale that interweaves its family drama with a fantastical adventure in nature within a short, albeit captivating 69-minute runtime.
Krisha is a strong-willed member of an indigenous tribe called the Yates, living with her reindeer-herder family. They’re accustomed to the rough conditions of the Siberian tundra, always respecting nature’s beauty and the animals that they hunt for nutrition. Krisha regularly fights with her younger brother, Kolya, but they will have to learn to work together when their lives are turned upside down after a Russian military officer named Vladimir arrives with Bazak, a Yate hunter. Together, they hold motives that threaten everything the family holds dear.
Park paints a familiar family dynamic that operates as the heart of the film. Krisha clashes with her brother, who she actually holds dear, while she admires her father’s practical wisdom and her mother’s empathetic soul. The family belongs to a greater community, where each member contributes to their ongoing survival. Mother Land creates meaningful stakes in the confrontation of mortality and conflicting ideas within the family, as traditional and progressive views send them on very different journeys to achieve the same goal of endurance.
Meanwhile, a mysterious red bear haunts Krisha with visions, setting her on the path to track it down in the Ancient Forest. This lore reflects her community’s past, which is no longer treated as fact within her own family, calling the protagonist’s perspective into question. Mother Land wonderfully combines fantasy and reality in a grounded world with real consequences that call urgency to the journey.
However, the concise runtime cuts the story off at the knees. There’s so much to explore in this vivid world, but we don’t get the chance to indulge. Park reliably lands the story beats that earn their emotional payoffs, yet Mother Land still could use more downtime with these characters. The result is a plot-centric and rushed adventure that would benefit from more nuanced characterizations.
Park’s stop-motion animation is a gorgeous sight to behold. The characters are beautifully-designed and distinct in personality, while the landscapes hold a wondrous quality that feels immersive. Min-young Sohn’s delicately intricate score is appropriately soothing and poignant.
Mother Land is a touching stop-motion folklore adventure with a warm-hearted core, but it dashes to the point before we’ve had the chance to fully lose ourselves in its world. This gorgeously-animated film proves Park to be an artist worth watching, although the next quest will hopefully give itself more room to breathe.
Rating: 3/5
Mother Land played at Fantasia 2023 on July 30th, 2023.
