Friend

A friend of mine who grew up in Korea recommended this movie to me a couple years ago. He said it "reminded him of friends he had when he was young." I thought about that and remembered my friends who I watched my first porno with and who fought by my side win or lose and who I parted ways with sometimes on not so good terms. I ended up thanking him because the movie is a treasure trove of memories of coming of age. It reminded me of elder brothers who showed me honor in martial arts and gangsta life and my close friends who went their separate ways. Just like my friend said it reminded me of friends and growing up.

10/10. Great story. Great Acting. Great Characters. Stylish Violence. Well produced. Awesome Gangsta Drama. Right up there with "Failan" for impact.

I found it sitting there at blockbuster and I grabbed it for the hell of it and was pleasantly surprised. This was one of the first Korean movies I saw and was completely blown away. Just about everything in this movie is done right. The story is extremely well told and interesting. Its a really intense/serious movie, but does not take itself TOO serious like so many movies and is quite often light hearted and comical. The acting really stands out in this movie, the performances are flawless.

PLEASE see this movie. Rent it, buy it, borrow it. You will NOT be disappointed.

Because of his extraordinary handsomeness and popularity among female fans. Jang dong-gun often played romantic parts in most of his previous works. Still his works showed clearly that he made an effort in choosing parts with different characters and played them with a wide range of styles, most notably in 'Medical brother','Love wind love song' and 'All about Eve'.But Dong-su in 'Chin goo'is a totally different genre of roles he used to play the result really shows what a consummated actor Jang dong-gun is.

The movie of course is good. It becomes the most money making film in Korean history and won many awards including Jang dong-gun's best supporting actor in Asian film festival. It is a gangster movie but focus more on the characters and their friendship. Dong-su ,a quite tragic and anti-hero character, with no elegance and glory, is opposite of what audience would expect if they are used to a regular Hong Kong style ganster film. With Jang dong-gun's performance, Dong-su's suppressed rage and sadness were effectively but delicately shown, though ruthless in mob confrontations, the audience would still feel sympathetic and mourn for his inevitable death. Besides Jang dong-gun, everything else is also excellent, the photography, the story, the directing styles, other actors, especailly Yu oh-seong (who also won the best actor award in Asian film festival) who play Jeong-suk.

It is a bit hard to know where to begin when dissecting such a film. What I can say is that this was a very stunning film, and with the time you spend thinking about it and the more times that you watch it it only becomes more relevant and better. Mr. Kwak is capable to tell the story of four friends on such an intimate level because it was based very much on his own personal experiences.

The story is extremely genuine, and it holds so much water for anybody who has ever witnessed the people that they love ruin their lives. It certainly comes straight from the heart of Kwak, and while watching it it is hard not to become emotional as you see the film being developed.

I also found the film to be made very professionally, with some great camera-work and never once did I feel that the production was sub-par. A lot of the camera work is well executed.

Overall, the dialogue and story are very powerful, and the calm, reflective nature of the film makes it easy to watch. I enjoyed this film very much. Overall, one of the best portrayals of the passage of time, nostalgic sentimentality, and the relations of friends.

Friend This is the course of friendship over a twenty year period. Beginning in 1975 we watch as four friends spend some time on what appears to be a summer vacation. Their future looks bright. A few years on as school and life takes its toll the dynamic between them changes and re-changes again as the have to deal with growing up, shattered dreams, decent into crime and drugs and the friendship itself. This is a dark little film that reminded me of some of the work of Martin Scorsese. Life often beats on these guys, from cruelty from their teachers to murder making it hard to get by. The course of these boys lives is not clear nor does it always turn out how we, or they think it will. The cast is excellent from top to bottom. Definitely worth seeking out, though be warned some of the violence has a tough edge to it.