Friend (2001) - Review

Image from google

“Friend” is another classic Korean film from 2001. It is semi-autobiographic showing the director’s experience with his friends and it is one of the highest grossing Korean movies of all time. I decided to watch this because the storyline reminded me a lot of “Sandglass”.

What is this about:

This movie depicts the lives of four friends: Joon Suk, the son of a gangster, Dung Soo, son of an undertaker , Jung Ho, the school clown and Sang Taek, the narator the story. It starts from 1976, when they were children, continues to 1981 where they are just before adulthood and eventually when they are adults and have chosen different paths.

My review:

This is not an easy film. It doesn’t take you from the hand and tells you this is that. Far from it. It requires from you to pay attention, close attention to what is going on on your screen.

Sang Taek

Although based on the description and the first thirty minutes I thought this was about these four friends, but in the end it is about the two of them, Joon Suk and Dung Soo, who end up in opposing gangster organizations, and the inability of the other two to stop the inevitable. And it was emotional, made even more so by the simplicity, I don’t know if that is the right word, of how their emotions were expressed. Because in real life we don’t confront each other in big dramatic scenes, most of the time we leave many things unsaid, usually the most important ones. Just like in this movie.

Dung Soo

 Jung Ho and Sang Taek are very much us. When we see the disaster unfold before our eyes, we do nothing, not because we don’t want to, but because certain things are beyond our control and we can’t take responsibility for other people’s decisions, even if they are our friends.

Sang Taek and Soon Suk

It is obvious that the director poured his soul in this film. The characterization is so close to real life and the way he told his story mimicked life. You can’t see the purpose of it all until the very end. So, if for the three quarters of the film you wonder where does this lead to, you can’t see a connection to the pieces of their lives, have patience and wait until the last thirty or twenty minutes.

The performances are stellar from everyone. Even for the minor roles the actors were carefully selected. Especially the four leads brought to life interesting flawed humans that you feel for.

However … this could be a masterpiece, but for me failed for one single reason. I was left confused even after the movie ended. I had to search on google to see what I was missing – apparently quite a few. And after I read the information I appreciated the nuances of this film even more. But I would like not to have to look it up, to answer these questions on my own by the end. Perhaps it is not the director’s fault, perhaps he subtitles I used weren’t the best and many things were lost in translation.

Why you should watch:

• One of the best Korean movies.

• Exceptional direction and performances.

• Complex story with layers and layers of details.

• If you like gangster movies.

Why not to watch:

• If you don’t like ganster movies.

• It has a fair amount of violence and it shows use of drugs and sex.

• Maybe it is too complex story.

Final verdict:

9.5/10. Very close to being a masterpiece. I certainly would watch it again – and with different subtitles – and I highly recommend it.