It seems that with the more South Korean movies I see, I'm starting to see a trend of great storytellers showing us what's happening instead of telling us, or have the characters tell us. Thus is the case with "The Way Home", where every shot is simple, the camera unimposing, and yet poignant and breathtaking at the same time. When we see Sang-Woo walking up to his grandmother's house 10 paces behind her, no one has to explain how reluctant he is. The beauty of this film also lies in what's not shown to us. Sang-Woo eventually meets a young girl about his age who intrigues him. For a good portion of the movie, he is trying to make a connection with her but doesn't seemingly succeed. Then when least expected she comes running to him asking where he was because she wants to play with him. Afterwards, it cuts straightaway to Sang-Woo in bed at night giggling with joy to himself of the prospect of his young crush while he coyly covers his face with the comforter, a feeling that hopefully all of us has had the pleasure to experience, and even as we get older, we can still reminisce about something that is just as personal. In this way, the film doesn't insult our intelligence and we automatically know that the previous events are the cause for his jubilance. We did not actually need to see what happened between those scenes because the filmmakers trust us to fill in the blanks. Another example is when Sang-Woo finally verbalizes his feelings for his grandmother (which by the way is a good payoff considering what their relationship was in the beginning), it consists of a beautiful yet still unencroaching shot where he is crying and all we see is the back of the grandmother's head. In a heart-tugging moment, all that needed to be done by the actress who plays the grandmother was for her to lift her hand to her face and we already know her point of view of what's going on. There are no intense tearful closeups or strings playing in the background. We already know that she's crying. And yet after all that, Sang-Woo still has trouble saying goodbye to his grandmother when he finally has to leave with his mother witnessing it. In an American film, I'm almost certain he would be directed to hug her for dear life and plead his mother to let him stay longer. This kind of real human behavior portrayal is a testament to the insight of the filmmakers who understand that in life, expression of something even as beautiful as love can be a difficult thing to do, especially in the presence of someone else.
On a more personal note, this movie struck a chord with me because it gave me insight to a life that is very foreign to me. Me being Asian-American is only one aspect of it, but I will be the first to admit that I am spoiled up the wazoo and there will be a lot of convincing for me to give up HDTVs, the internet etc. It made me truly appreciate people who are rich in spirit and can find pleasure in simple things, which is something I always try to fool myself into thinking that I can do. But truthfully, I do not know if I could live in that house without all the amenities that I'm used to (although the mountain scenery would be a sight for sore eyes).
On a more personal note, this movie struck a chord with me because it gave me insight to a life that is very foreign to me. Me being Asian-American is only one aspect of it, but I will be the first to admit that I am spoiled up the wazoo and there will be a lot of convincing for me to give up HDTVs, the internet etc. It made me truly appreciate people who are rich in spirit and can find pleasure in simple things, which is something I always try to fool myself into thinking that I can do. But truthfully, I do not know if I could live in that house without all the amenities that I'm used to (although the mountain scenery would be a sight for sore eyes).