The Way Home
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The Way Home description
This sweet Korean film is, on the surface, utterly simple: a young urban boy, a bit spoiled and a bit neglected, is left with his mute grandmother in the country for a month or so. Cut off from electronic games and other aspects of modern life, the boy is forced to grapple with the world around him. But such a summary doesn't capture the movie's essence, which lies in how emotions play across the face of its young star: his gleeful malice when he insults his grandmother, his confused hope when he tries to befriend a local girl, his shame when he is confronted by the victim of a prank. The boy doesn't undergo some magical transformation; when his mother returns, he still doesn't fully understand how his grandmother's silent devotion has changed him. It's the movie's honesty about the subtlety of that change that gives The Way Home its power. --Bret Fetzer |
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The Way Home Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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Essence of Love: Relationship Between Grandmother & Grandson
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The basic story is uncomplicated and simple: a young Korean mother appearing to be aged early 20s takes her city born and raised son, Sang-woo, about 7 or 8 years old to the country to visit his grandmother who is a deaf mute. The best way to describe and review the film is to recall specific scenes which were memorable and captivating ... The film shows how Sang-woo eventually developed a bond of love and caring attitude toward his grandmother who had a generous spirit, open heart, great patience and tolerance for her grandson despite his mischevious ways and high energy antics ...
He brings along his "game boy", books, modular robot, favorite photo cards, and some wooden toys along with his own blanket ... He becomes frustrated with his grandmother who uses sign language in place of vocal language. Her house is on a hillside, built of wood with a corragated metal roof. When she does chores around the house, Sang-woo mocks her behind her back calling her a "retard" and other names. When the battery in his game boy dies, and it becomes nonfunctional he walks to the nearest small village but can not find the right batteries. He tries to find his way back but gets lost. A nice elderly Korean man gives him a bicycle ride home ... He feels lost without modern conveniences, all the gadgets and modern appliances in his life are missing. Even the modest television his grandmother owns does not work right. In place of in-door plumbing and toilet facilities - he is forced to use a chamber pot ...
His grandmother tries very hard to please him: she asks him through sign language what he wants to eat. He replies, "pizza, hamburger, and Kentucky Fried Chicken." He knows she does not understand. He points out the Kentucky Fried Chicken in a magazine and motions with his arms, making wings, and indicates a rooster's cox comb with his hand. She smiles and understands. She goes out with her vegetables all bundled up and returns with a rooster: a live rooster that she fixes up into a main dish. Yet Sang-woo is not happy and starts crying ... It is boiled meat and he wanted fried Kentucky Chicken. However, in the middle of the night, he ends up eating a drumstick and more ... when driven by hunger.
Sang-woo becomes acqainted with two local children close to his age, one is a young girl. He is charmed by her ... His grandmother takes him by bus to the larger village nearby - he sees the young girl and spies on her, trying to win her attention but she ignores him. The grandmother tries to sell her home-grown water-melon and pumpkins at the market. She manages to raise some money and spends most of it on Sang-woo in a restaurant. She looks for the right bus and puts him on it but she ends up walking home. He waits for her at the bus stop but she deos not get off any of them, he later sees her walking around the bend of the road, hunched over using her walking stick for support. Sang-woo eventualy gets a letter from his mother ...
His mother writes the visit is over, she will pick him up soon. He shows compassion toward his grandmother, trying to teach her to write: promising her, he will come as soon as she indicates she is sick. He writes out the Korean characters, "I miss you" and "I am sick". His grandmother tries to imitate the characters but without success. In the end, after he is packed at the bus stop, he finds it hard to say "good-bye." His mother makes excuses, saying he is "shy" but the bus leaves: he goes to the back and waves good-bye frantically at his grandmother. He sends her his favorite cards with hand-drawn pictures and Korean messages "I miss you" and "Hope you feel well" ... In the end, both grandmother and grandson felt the same emotions about each other ... as they learned about each other and how to live together for a short interval of time. This was a very captivating and heart-warming story with a universal message. It will appeal to a wide audience. Erika Borsos (pepper flower) |
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The Way Home dvd movie.