Name : The way home [ 2002/South Korea/ Drama ]
Director: Lee Jehong
Music : Kim
Actors : Doesn't look like they are actors :)
We do have rare films deals about grandmothers [ poove poochoodava - U know PC Sriram was the cameraman for that film ]
San's video game player runs out of the battery and he roams to get batteries. He asks his grandma for KFC and grandma somehow understands that he is asking for chicken. She manages to buy a live hen on a rainy day and cooks that in country style [ plain - boiled ]. He doesn't accept it as KFC and of course grandma doesn't understand what he exactly asks for.
Out of all the conflicts, the only thing he helps his grandma is to thread the needle. One day she takes him to the market, buys noodles and new shoes. On the way back, he cheats his grandma and comes back alone in the bus, leaving grandma without a nickle. She walks all the way back home without frustration.
Director: Lee Jehong
Music : Kim
Actors : Doesn't look like they are actors :)
We, in tamil films, can't digest a single scene where the word love doesn't pitch in. We, in fact, changed the dictionary meaning of love - we understand it can be used only in the most dramatic sentence 'I love you' :). There are a handful of movies for other sort of relationships. Grandparents, Friends, Master-student [ "my tutor" illeenga :) ]. Also, we don't have good cinema for children. I still don't understand why 3D films are stopped being produced. [ I saw MDKuttichathaan in Ega theatre :) ].
We do have rare films deals about grandmothers [ poove poochoodava - U know PC Sriram was the cameraman for that film ]
This Korean movie deals with the summer holidays of a 10yrs old city grown kid, spending time with his grandmother in a remote village. The characters are very natural and their character biography is uncomplicated. But the happenings make the story close to us and interesting.
Plot :
It's about a 10 yrs boy [ San ] who comes from he city (Seoul) to a remote hill town in South Korea. San and his mother reaches a remote village to spend his summer with his grandmother [ 78 yrs, mute but not deaf ] and his mother leaves. San got packed junk foods and video games. He seldom respects the grandmother and of course, criticizes her as 'retard'. He gets 2 friends and they don't want to play with San, for his mischievous nature.
San's video game player runs out of the battery and he roams to get batteries. He asks his grandma for KFC and grandma somehow understands that he is asking for chicken. She manages to buy a live hen on a rainy day and cooks that in country style [ plain - boiled ]. He doesn't accept it as KFC and of course grandma doesn't understand what he exactly asks for.
Out of all the conflicts, the only thing he helps his grandma is to thread the needle. One day she takes him to the market, buys noodles and new shoes. On the way back, he cheats his grandma and comes back alone in the bus, leaving grandma without a nickle. She walks all the way back home without frustration.
Grandma's unconditional love slowly makes some change in the boy. End of the summer, he develops affection towards his grandma and teaches her simple greetings with cards. His mother comes and takes him back to Seoul, He departs with tears. Grandma is back to her simple life with greeting cards from her grandson.
View :
View :
Of the few characters, I liked the grandma very much. Whatever the kid does, she never gets irritated [ just like any other grandma ]. With whatever available with her, she leads a peaceful life and on top she helps others. The only thing she depends on the boy is to run thread through a needle because of her low eyesight and that she waits patiently.
The boy expresses his unwillingness very naturally. The film doesn't end too dramatically making the boy crying for his mistakes .. ha.. !
The shot where he eats chicken in the night is showed in the shadow form on wall [ Thiruttu thanam - Remember Alaipayuthe marriage is shown in silhouette :) ]
I liked a touching dialog - a friend of the old lady ends their conversation like this."Come by again before one of us dies."
The film hardly has 5-7 characters and very less dialogues.
Conclusion :
The movie is dedicated to grandmothers in the world - what an apt thing to do. This is not a stunning or complicated movie but simple n neat one.
An old joke
1 : பரவாயில்லையே.. மகளிர் மட்டும் மாதிரி பல்லவன்ல "ஆயாவுக்காக"னு கூட பஸ் விட்டுருக்காங்களே !
2 : யோவ் ! ஒழுங்கா படி.. அது "ஆயாவுக்காக" இல்லை.. ஆய்வுக்காக. !!
