Spoilers for: Mother (マザー; Mazā) (Japan) (2010); Anne (Mother) (Turkey) (2016-2017); Call Me Mother (마더; Madeo; Mother) (South Korea) (2018); Imperfect Love (不完美的她; Bu Wan Mei De Ta; 第三种人类; Imperfect Her; The Imperfect Woman) (China) (2020); Mother เรียกฉันว่า...แม่ (Mother) (Thailand) (2020)

“Choices are to be made in one’s life.

Parting. Giving Up.

Life and Death.

Good. Evil.”

-   Imperfect Love (2020, China)

Biological, adoptive, and abusive are all words that can be used to describe one's mother. Depending on which word is used, the overall idea of the mother being described takes on a new meaning.

In 2010, the award-winning Japanese television series Mother, written by Sakamoto Yuji, was released, and the world took notice. Mother is a suspenseful family drama that explores what it means to be family and what it means to be a mother.

Since 2010, at least four remakes of the series have been created and released including Anne (Turkey) (2016-2017); Call Me Mother (South Korea) (2018); Imperfect Love (China) (2020); and Mother เรียกฉันว่า...แม่ (Thailand) (2020).

Mother (2010) tells the story of a temporary teacher that discovers one of her students is bullied at school and neglected and abused at home by her mother. In a moment of crisis, the teacher decides to rescue her student by kidnapping her, faking her death, and giving the girl a new identity as her daughter.

As the teacher takes on the responsibility of being the girl’s mother the series analyzes the idea of what a mother is by societal standards. What makes a person a mother? What disqualifies a person as a mother? Do those reasons remain the same? Or are they ever-changing? Mother (2010) attempts to address these questions through a story about family, abduction and abuse.

Lost vs. Gained in Translation:

With every cast and crew come different nuances in a production. The five series are slightly different tonally and stylistically. But two important elements remain present across all adaptations, the sea and the imagery of birds.

The sea plays an active role in the disappearance of the rescued child as it is used as a tool to fake her death. However, since the shows are all set and produced in different countries, they all take place near different bodies of water that come with their own tone and characteristics. In some versions, the coast takes on the feeling of a sunny escape, while at other times and in other versions, the sea feels dark, cold, and eerie. In Imperfect Love (2020) the sea is forgone and replaced by fire, specifically arson, as the means of distraction while the teacher and her student make their escape.

The theme and imagery of birds take on a symbolic nature for some characters and important literal meanings for others. The temporary teacher is a doctor and researcher of birds. Like many birds, she spends her life migrating from place to place, not settling in one location permanently. Both teacher and student feel a connection to birds because of their admiration of flight and the feeling of freedom birds convey. Also, like many birds they choose to migrate together, forming their own unique family.

Another observable difference between the multiple programs is the series’ lengths. Mother (2010) and Mother เรียกฉันว่า...แม่ (2020) are 11 and 10 episodes long, respectively. While Call Me Mother (2018) is 16 episodes, Imperfect Love (2020) is about double the length of Mother (2010) and Anne (2016-2017) is over three times as long as the original series.

Each adaptation uses their allotted runtime to explore the same story elements, but understandably have differing amounts of time devoted to each story point. These differences resulted in varied points of focus throughout the programs. The many mothers and mother-daughter relationships presented within the multiple series at unique times make the shows structurally and stylistically different. No one show feels exactly like the other, leaving the viewing experience of the similar stories interesting. 

Final Thoughts:

These series deliver many different shades of the person we define as “mother.” Mothers are the protagonist, main characters, supporting characters, and villains. The shows also explore the range and the weight of the word mother, the concepts associated with it, and the relationship it entails.

So whether you’ve been with this series’ journey from the beginning or picked it up in the middle like me, the series’ reach is now greater. I encourage you to take the time to appreciate Mother in a language and show length of your choosing. Regardless of the amount of variation across countries, the term “mother” is never lost in translation.

For more from the original screenwriter:

Mother ( マザー; Mazā) : Sakamoto Yuji

About the Writer

Angela M. Thomas is a Co-Founder & Administrator of the WODC where she serves as the Write or Die Chicks Social Media & Branding Specialist. She captains the international media column Lost in Translation.

Image Edited by Angela M. Thomas