Jibeuro (2002)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jeong-hyang Lee

Writer:

Jeong-hyang Lee (writer)

Release Date:

5 April 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Discover the magical movie that has captured the heart of a nation.

Plot:

Seven-year-old Sang-woo is left with his grandmother in a remote village while his mother looks for work...

Plot Keywords:

Grandmother Grandson Relationship

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Eul-boon Kim	...	Grandmother
Seung-ho Yu	...	Sang-woo
Hyo-hee Dong	...	Sang-woo's Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kyung-hyun Min	...	Cheol-e
Eun-kyung Yim	...	Hae Yeon

Directed by
Jeong-hyang Lee

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jeong-hyang Lee		writer

Produced by
Jae-Cheol Heo	....	line producer
Seung-beom Kim	....	executive producer
Jae-woo Whang	....	producer
Woo-hyun Whang	....	producer

Original Music by
Dae-hong Kim
Yang-hee Kim

Cinematography by
Hong-shik Yoon

Film Editing by
Jae-beom Kim
Sang-Beom Kim

Art Direction by
Jum-hee Shin

Production Management
Hyun-young Song	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eun-seok Kim	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Hee-soo Eun	....	field recording engineer
Seung-cheol Lee	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Cheol-oh Lee	....	lighting technician

Other crew
Claire Viroulaud	....	press attache

Production Companies

• CJ Entertainment
• Tube Entertainment

Distributors

• CJ Entertainment
• Eurocine (Argentina)
• Les Films du Préau (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount Classics (USA) (subtitled)
• Tokyo Theaters Company
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Way Home (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and language.

Runtime:

80 min | Argentina:89 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Canada:85 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Canada:88 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:G | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Mexico:A | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Jeetongma, Choongbuk Province, South Korea

Company:

CJ Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Outstanding Love Story

This is a most touching and honest love story. 'Love story', you may wonder?? Are we talking about the same movie? Indeed, the Way Home is a story about a grandson and grandmother with love in the agape tone as it's central theme. Perhaps it's because of the distance between the two: the urban vs the rural; the materialism versus the simple living; or the selfish versus the selfless -- the contrasting styles really make for an interesting comparison in views of the world.

There really was a huge chasm that had to be overcome at the start of this movie, and the action moved superbly in filling out the moments and telling a very visual story of crossing the chasm.

When I read that the director could have spent 2 months filming this movie by shooting in the most efficient manner possible (i.e. common location scenes shot all at once), but chose not to, I was floored. The director *chose* to shoot this movie in chronological sequence spending 6 months on it in order to ensure the emotional sequence would be intact and exact. What a *great* choice -- and it really showed through the movie making it absolutely AMAZING.

This is a very moving movie. I recommend it without reservation.