[Movie 2002] The Way Home 집으로

The Way Home (a movie dedicated to all grandmothers)

-- no major spoilers, no tragedies... truly heartwarming & full of love :blush:

I had this movie in my collection for the longest time.... remembering... why... I kept postponing to watch it... because when the tears started falling, it's so hard to stop.

I love family series but there's a price to pay... swollen eyes and painful chest. But I didn't cry intially when the movie starts... only when the grandmother appeared, an undeniably sharp & hot sensation started to build up behind the tear glands. She reminded me so much of my late grandmother, the white hair, the slow walking posture but most importantly, her quiet and warm presence.

Just to share a little thought (a review by Darcy Paquet posted above)... grandmothers are the most patient creatures on earth... no matter what their grandchildren do... they'll smile warmly and never raise a word. In this case the grandmother is mute but she knows and hears everything. Even when the spoilt grandson mutters disrespectful words, his grandma's reaction never changes. She gestures and touches him softly, urging him... giving him all that she could afford. Yeah... children will always be children and in the movie, the boy's been so used to city life.... suddenly living in an isolated area so far way, without all the world's comfort gave him endless fits of tantrums and yet, the grandmother keeps holding out to him, giving in to everything. Seriously... honestly... if this ever happens to us... I'm sure... many probably wouldn't hesitate to give a smack or two at such behaviour that's why grandmothers are the most patient beings.

But as the end approaches... the boy slowly realizes the magnitude of kindness that his grandmother has showered him with. Living alone all her life... she appreciates the boy so much, her precious kin... always wanting to please the pride of her life... and eventually, the boy learnt just how much she really meant to him. Totally love the end... (though I would prefer someone living with the grandmother... she's already so used to her life, changing it would only affect the peaceful equilibrium) .. knowing that the grandmother could never speak or write, he prepared the ready-made messages on his favourite toy-cards of "I MISS YOU"s and "I'M SICK" prepared for the grandmother ... truly so touching and heartwarming to see. She only had to send those to his grandson to keep in touch. In the end of the movie... I had a really bad headache... because the crying just wouldn't stop.

But it's all good, worthwhile and especially sweet story of a warm unconditional love. If you still have your grandma with you, do give her a hug and a kiss.

That boy needed some serious richard simmons whooping!

i love this movie alot!

it really touched my heart!

i cried like hell watching the movie.

one of my all-time favourites.

Lol....same here starting from beginning to end i cried and well it was embrassing with all my friends there but heck it was one good movie....Love it from beginning to end...^^

i love this movie alot!

it really touched my heart!

i cried like hell watching the movie.

one of my all-time favourites.

gosh .. thanks for starting this thread ..

i loved this show .. looking at both of them bond reminds me of our own grannies.. i cried even while watching the trailer .. it was so touching .. (minus the kentucky chicken part) .. definitely one of the most memorable for me ..

^it's my pleasure, I love this movie... I adore the grandmother!

Ohh... the scene... they went to town as a treat & to buy stuff (shoes) for the boy, the grandmother ended up walking all the way back to their village just because the boy doesn't want her on the same bus ... he wanted to impress the girl. Aish... it took so long for her to reach home ... how could he be so inconsiderate little b***. Yet the grandmother simply looked unaffected... a bit sweaty but she's totally cool after that very long walk.

I was like... what... she walked? And I ended crying my heart out...

> Kentucky chicken it wasn't

The boy was a major brat, but the grandmother was just wonderful. This movie had no major explosion & no tragic love, but it had a lot of HEART. It makes you appreciate how a small simple gesture can means so much. I discovered this GREAT movie by accident at rental place.

rubie, thanks for starting this thread. this has got to be 1 of my favorite kmovies. it's somewhere deep in the heart & unforgettable.

like you, the tears never stopped running for me even after the credits finished rolling. in a way, i was glad i didn't watch this at the cinemas cause erm my crying towards the end got kinda loud it made me miss both my grandmothers who have passed on.... both I never really got the chance to get closer to.

i was touched as well with what Sangwoo did towards the end, tht ready made messages....

thanx rubie for making a thread about this movie.. i remembered watching it a few years back and absolutely love the grandmother's character.. the boy was cute but was such a brat..

I saw this movie at a video store but didn't rent it so maybe I left out a great movie. The plot is really interesting anyway.

rubie, thanks for starting this thread. this has got to be 1 of my favorite kmovies. it's somewhere deep in the heart & unforgettable.

like you, the tears never stopped running for me even after the credits finished rolling. in a way, i was glad i didn't watch this at the cinemas cause erm my crying towards the end got kinda loud it made me miss both my grandmothers who have passed on.... both I never really got the chance to get closer to.

i was touched as well with what Sangwoo did towards the end, tht ready made messages....

thanx rubie for making a thread about this movie.. i remembered watching it a few years back and absolutely love the grandmother's character.. the boy was cute but was such a brat..

Hi! Happy to share something nice, I was updating elsewhere and found the little thoughts I wrote about the movie before and I remember that quite a few had The Way Home listed in their favourite movie list in one of the threads around and we haven't had one on the movie itself. It's really good reminiscing and sharing a heartwarming story with similar minds.

Like mentioned above, there was no extreme plot or anything like that but the simple movie had a lot of HEART.

That boy sure is a major pain-in-the-a** but to his grandmother, he's her little prince.

Spoilt little boy Sangwoo have finally grown up...

September 26, 2006

Child actors come of age in Korea

September 26, 2006 ㅡ Four years ago, a small boy moved the hearts of more than 4 million Koreans. He was Yoo Seung-ho, the young star of director Lee Jeong-hyang's movie "Jibeuro," or "The Way Home" in English, a heartwarming story about a boy and his deaf-mute grandmother.

Seung-ho played the grandson in the movie, earning the title of "forever the young boy."

But four years have passed and the 10-year-old has grown up.

He will soon return to the cinema with a main role as a teenager whose only family is his dog "Maumy."

The film "Maumy" is coming to theaters late next month, but moviegoers are already excited to see their favorite boy actor coming back to screens, entertainment Web sites show.

It seems that he has gained a lot of teenage girl fans as well.

"He has a million-dollar smile," wrote "Ruelo" on the bulletin board of Interpark, a Web site for film ticketing. Another article posted by a female fan read, "He has grown up to become so handsome and so cute."

He was voted to be the best look-alike of popular actor Cho Seung-woo, according to an Interpark poll. He also received the most votes as the "most prospective" young actor, according to a survey done by Cine 21, a movie magazine.

The popularity of teenage stars is growing noticeably. Young actors who were considered mere children in the past are receiving much more attention these days.

"Teenaged actors usually played minor roles in films, but that's becoming an old story," said a staffer from Fine Works, a film planning agency. "More movies like to tell their stories from a young person's perspective and younger actors who can act are necessary in this business to make that possible."

A good example is Ko A-seong, 15, who played the youngest daughter in the film, "The Host." She played a critical role in the film where her family rescued her from the creature that kidnapped her.

After Ko showed that she could act well despite her young age, she received more requests to star in television dramas and commercials

Shin Se-gyeong, 17, is another teenage star who is in the spotlight these days. Shin debuted as a "mere friend of actress Moon Geun-young" in a 2004 comedy without much success.

But two years passed and Shin returned to the big screen as a beautiful young lady.

In the recent horror film, "Cinderella," she played the eerie daughter of a plastic surgeon. She did not scare any of the audience but did succeed in surprising the moviegoers who remembered her earlier role.

Following the movie's release, Shin signed an 80 million won ($85,000) contract with School Looks, a high school uniform company, to model its clothes for one year.

"She may be still young, but she gave off the image of being confident, innocent, smart and sexy all at the same time," said the press release from School Looks, explaining why they felt Shin was the right model to best display its clothes.

by Lee Min-a <mina>

Source: JoongAng Daily

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200609/25/2...0091009101.html

The Way Home (US Version)

~ Seung-Ho Yoo | Hyo-Dee Dong

This subtle and bucolic Korean film is "dedicated to all grandmas" by its director Jeong-hyang Lee. The story concerns bratty, selfish seven-year-old Sang-Woo (Seung-Ho Yoo) who is sent out into the mountains to live with his ancient, mute, partially deaf grandmother (Eul-Boon Kim) while his stressed-out single mom looks for work back in the city. Angry and resentful, the boy is bored with his new life of simple food, sleeping on the floor in a one-room hut, and having nowhere to buy batteries for his dying handheld video game. Eventually Grandma's humble patience and unconditional love get through to him, and there's plenty of space for comic vignettes and moving moments of stillness along the way. The boy's hyper world of candy and toys contrasts with grandma's slow, natural environment and allows for contemplation on our rapidly changing culture. This is the second film from Ms. Lee, whose cast consists largely of inexperienced locals from the village where she shot the film. Eul-Boon Kim is a particularly amazing discovery as the grandmother; she had never even seen a movie before being cast.

"...Lee has invested a great deal of autobiographical currency in the film -- emotionally if not literally -- and the result is appropriately resonant..." - Wade, Major (Box Office Critic), Box Office, 11/01/2002

"...[Kim Eul-boon] is a real natural..." - Lisa, Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly Critic), Entertainment Weekly, 11/22/2002

"...THE WAY HOME is simplicity itself, and Lee is alert to the details and incidents of everyday life to sustain the film with wryly amusing observations and much affection....A loving little film of considerable appeal..." - Kevin, Thomas (Film critic), Los Angeles Times, 11/15/2002

Source http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/...pid-1004415508/

i always wondered.. is the grandmother still alive?

she was so wonderful in that movie.

better than all those heavy top dogs in the acting bussiness.

I read somewhere that the money the grandmother made from this movie, other people in the village tried to steal from her.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite movies too. I cried so much watching this.

loved this movie, cried alot too and i wanted to hit the little kid

made me watch more korean movies...

I read somewhere that the money the grandmother made from this movie, other people in the village tried to steal from her.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite movies too. I cried so much watching this.

What!?! Never knew about that! Hope everything turns out well for her, though she'd never act again... or did she?

I just hope that the grandmother is living with her family and not all alone, as in The Way Home.

Ooh I remember watching this movie and how it tugged at my heartstrings.. the grandmother was so patient towards her brat of a grandson but in the end the grandson learned to love her back which was very very sweet indeed. i loved the movie.