Table of Content
The two are trying to have a baby, with no success so far. Her quiet life, however, is thrown into turmoil one day when she receives a phone call from the police saying that the man who allegedly raped her ten years ago has finally been caught, an incident which she has so far hidden from Sang-u. Jeong-won struggles to decide whether and how to tell him after all these years, while her adoptive parents, Sang-u’s employees, who are aware of what happened, try to convince her to not keep her husband in the dark for too long. The grandmother goes to a shop that is run by an elderly friend.
Lots already has been said and portrayed in films about the actual act of sexual assault and more still of its immediate effects on the victim and those around her. The emotions and their corresponding actions that Jeong-won goes through are very raw and feel authentic. These sentiments began to make further sense once Jeong-won’s younger sister features more prominently in the film’s second half. It is based on the true story of an ordinary Korean housewife who was imprisoned in Martinique for two years after being wrongfully accused of drug smuggling at a Paris airport. The title “Way Back Home” does seem confusing for a while but ends up being befitting as the movie reaches its closure.
Film Review: Buoyancy ( by Rodd Rathjen
As Jeong-won’s past is revealed little by little, their married life quickly loses balance. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been criticized by Jang and the filmmakers for its handling of the incident, citing their "diplomatic negligence" and calling them irresponsible when it comes to protecting Koreans abroad. Foreign Ministry officials have insisted that the story in the movie is not the whole truth. It's a tough and emotionally destroying masterpiece that everyone needs to watch.
This is, after all, a story of a woman finding her way back to her husband and her family in the midst of a crisis she never expected to face. Despite the heavy subject that starts our characters’ journeys, “Way Back Home” is ultimately a unique love story. This is a truly fine film from a debutante director featuring an excellent performance from a debutante actress. Eventually Sang-woo begins to love his grandmother, but because she is unable to read or write he makes some simple greeting cards, so she has some letters from him. Finally Sang-woo's mother returns and he goes back to Seoul. His depth of feeling for his grandmother is revealed when the bus leaves and he leaps to the back window to wave his tearful farewells.
Awards and nominations
She also tends the melons that she will sell at the market. The story begins on a fine summer's morning, when Sang-woo (Yoo Seung-ho) and his mother board a bus to the country. It is soon clear that the unsophisticated rural passengers annoy the seven-year-old urban boy.
When she turns up looking nervous at Orly Airport in Paris with over 30 kilograms of cocaine in her luggage, it is the beginning of a globe-spanning nightmare that began with an old friend and a tempting proposition. In order to achieve maximum realism in telling the true story of a housewife accused of drug trafficking in Martinique, the film was shot in the Caribbean-a first for a Korean movie-and two other countries, Korea, and France. It is filled with locations never before attempted in Korean cinema, such as Dominica's Najayo Prison, Paris' Orly Airport, the Korean Embassy to France, and the Caribbean. The film staff invested vast amounts of time in finding locations and obtaining permits. For example, it took nearly two years to secure the permit to shoot in the Najayo women's prison, and filming took place on a tight 6-day schedule.
User reviews7
Sang-Woo then has to wait for his grandmother to return wondering why it is taking her so long. He then realizes that his grandmother has walked back from town carrying all her produce. One of the Grandmother's neighbors is a hard-working country boy who attempts to become friends with Sang-woo, who declines until the end when he apologizes for making fun of him. The other is a young girl who Sang-Woo falls in love with, but she is more interested in the country boy.
But as the grandmother only understands "chicken", she takes some of her melons and trudges off to the market to buy a chicken. Bringing back a live one in the rain, she prepares a home-made boiled chicken instead of fried chicken. When Sang-woo wakes up he sees the boiled chicken he gets angry, throwing the food away and cries. Later in the night he finishes the food because he is hungry. Sang-woo serves her the remaining chicken while caring for her.
Cast
The shopkeeper, who now has a bad knee, gives her five or six pies but refuses to take any money, so the grandmother gives the shopkeeper a melon. But when the grandmother returns to the bus with the sweets, Sang-Woo says he wants to ride alone as the girl he likes is also on board. The grandmother tries to get Sang-Woo to take the rest of the produce with him but he refuses.
This is the central idea behind Park Sun-joo’s debut film “Way Back Home” (not to be confused with the Jeon Do-yeon starring 2013 film of the same name), which premiered at Busan International Film Festival. Despite the hardships faced by the old grandmother who has osteoporosis, the only thing she needs Sang-woo for is to run thread through her needles. She stitches the shoes and shares her earnings with a friend who ends their meeting with the touching words "Come by again before one of us dies."
In 2013, Jang published the book Lost Days, recounting her ordeal and her life after returning from prison, particularly her difficult re-adjustment to Korean society and the ostracism she and her two daughters faced. His transition from the loveable, doting husband to the confused yet supportive partner who wants to be his emotionally struggling wife’s pillar of strength but never quite gets to be is noteworthy, particularly in the aforementioned car scene. Seasoned supporting actors Yoo Jae-myung and Yum Hye-ran provide decent company to the two as Jeong-won’s uncle and aunt but it is Jung Da-eun’s understated performance as Jeong-won’s sister that surprises.
Music is sparsely used but manages to fill the silences well with its moody undertones. Victims of sexual assaults may report the crime against them to the police, but often the perpetrators walk away unscathed, never caught. The victims try to push forward with life as best as they can, never really forgetting what happened to them but trying to lock up the incident in a remote part of their minds. But what happens if, years later when the victim has seemingly moved on, they find out that the perpetrator has been caught?
This is the first time a Korean film was shot in the Caribbean, as well as the first to feature actual guards and prisoners as supporting characters. Filming took place over three weeks at a women's prison in Martinique. Because this is primarily a “human” film, the cinematography doesn’t attempt anything fancy but is content, just like Park Sun-joo’s script, in keeping its humans centre-frame. The different locations used are well selected and in a small scene, it was amusing to see and recognise the house that played a key part in “Moving On”, another participant at Busan last year.
Back in Korea, her husband does his best to get through to the diplomats and secure her passage home. "Way Back Home" is not only one of the saddest films I have ever seen , but one of the best films I have ever seen period. Jeon Do Yeon delivers an outstandingly incredible emotional powerhouse performance once again and deserves an Oscar .
No comments:
Post a Comment