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

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)

Silence can be golden!

Commenter mwprods wrote below on date: 8 October 2002, this film "could probably flourish and impress even as a silent film." There is very little dialogue because the grandmother is a mute. This was a plus for me because for once I was able to keep up with the subtitles in a foreign film. Kidding aside, I was astonished by how such a quiet film touched me so. It makes me want to reevaluate my disdain for films from the silent film era. (I think I will hunt down "Metropolis" - I've heard critics speak highly of the silent film.) If you scan through all of the other comments you get suggestions for other films similar to Jibeuro (The Way Home).

From reading the other comments I was surprised to learn that it was the top grossing film of its year in South Korea. I know nothing about South Korea's film industry, but since it exports cars to the USA (Hyundai, Kia, etc), I assumed that their film industry would be similarly advanced. If it is, it is a pleasant surprise indeed that such a small film with first time actors ended up on the 'top of the heap'.

Imdb's page on the movie says that its available in DVD. I recommend people rent this sweet tale on a laid back weekend.

I plan to adopt a child within the USA's foster care system - many of which are difficult children. The grandmother character in this film showed me that with patience and persistence over possibly a long period of time one may get through to a difficult child - this film gave me more confidence that I could be successful as a foster parent.