The Way Home is a
touching story about a spoiled city boy, Sang Woo, whose
single mom falls on hard times. The mom has no choice but
to ship the boy off to the rural mountain town where his
grandma lives. The grandmother is a hunchback lady with
serious osteoporosis from bending over low stoves all her
life. She’s also mute and illiterate.Despite the physical
setbacks, she works diligently without complaining. Her
character is so cute, you fall in love with her right away.
At first, the SangWoo treats his grandma with disrespect
and apathy. He assumes she’s a country bumpkin because
she’s unfamiliar with the trappings of the modern
world.(How could she possible not know what Kentucky Fried
chicken is??!!)He tries to keep himself occupied with the
things he brought with him from the city: his rollerblades,
his toys, his Coca Cola and his tins of Spam. However, after
seeing all the sacrafices the gentle old woman makes for
him, he soon learns some important lessons about love, kindness,
selflessness and humility.
A long way home has a purposefully slow pace to mimick the
slow pace of life in the countryside. In the beginning you
wonder if anything is going to happen in the movie, but
profound moments come out of very simple events. In addition,
the striking scenery and the beautiful cinematography makes
the movie a delight to watch.
The most remarkable thing about this movie is Eul-boon Kim,
the woman who plays the grandmother. She had never even
seen a movie before acting in
this one! The director Jeong-hyang Lee found her during
an extensive talent search among real rural village people.
Bring some tissues if you watch this movie (It's a tearjerker!)
and don’t forget to call your grandma afterwards to
tell her you love her.
|
