Ode to My Father

Wowww! I don't know where to start. The movie was so much better than my expectation after reading the IMDb's movie critics' reviews. I feel compelled to disagree with some of the criticisms that this movie tried to be melodramatic, some scenes were unnecessarily too comical, and that it was improbable and unrealistic for a person to go through all such tumultuous events. I like to recommend those critics to read about the 20th century Korean history.

My mother now in her 80's experienced many of the same experiences and some additional events in her lifetime: the Japanese occupation (1910- 1945), her 11 -year old classmates being shipped off by Japanese as wartime prostitutes during WWII (1939-1945), Korean independence (1948), Korean War (1950-1953) during which time she was a refugee in Busan, etc.

Immediately after WWII, after Japan exhausted all of Korea's natural resources, goods and men to fuel their war engines, Korean War broke. Whatever remained standing or fertile were bombed or burned up. After the Korean War, Korea was literally in rubble and ashes. Many families were split up and scattered during the war. The Streets were covered with orphans. Holt Adoption Agency placed many Korean orphans in American homes. These are all accurate.

As an early teen (in early 1960's), I was hearing about many Koreans hiring themselves out to foreign countries to find work as miners, nurses, or soldiers. The movie was also accurate that Germany did not extend the visas of foreigner miners for they were hired to make up for their temporary labor shortage.

I do agree with the critics that some of the acting was a bit raw, but they were soon forgotten as the movie pulled me into the story. I appreciated the funny scenes in the movie, for without them, it would have been too depressing to watch. This is a wonderful, wonderful movie, you must see! It is playing in K-Town at CGV theater. Also good eats in the same shopping mall.

I love watching Korean movies. There is always something new to be discovered and their narratives can be out of this world in terms of inventiveness, crazy story lines, hard-hitting action, high melodrama and kinetic energy. If you have seen enough of Korean cinema, you will probably know your love for the current Korean flick is only there during the duration. The moment it ends, all memories of the film start to dissipate into oblivion. These are usually the dime in a dozen type of film. Ode to My Father belongs in the category of the 'two'. This one got the emotional beats spot on with nary any overt manipulativeness (which is a wonder) and it is easily one of the best films I have seen this year.

Synopsis - Amid the chaos of refugees fleeing the Korean War in December 1950, a young boy, Duk- soo, sees his fate change in the blink of an eye when he loses track of his younger sister and he leaves his father behind to find her. Settling in Busan, Duk-soo devotes himself to his remaining family, working all manner of odd jobs to support them in place of his father. His dedication leads him first to the deadly coal mines of Germany, where he meets his first love, Youngja, and then to war-torn Vietnam in this generational epic about one man's personal sacrifices.

Review - This film is ambitious in wanting to depict 60 years of tumultuous history through the life of one man. IMHO the movie manages to do just that. I like the strong sense of place and time. The staging of the epic scenes is so outstanding, I was easily pulled into the story. Absolutely love that refugee fleeing scene of Hungnam in 1951 which later becomes part of North Korea. It was heartbreaking to see how a pair of sister and brother get separated in the chaos. I also love the brilliant use of flashbacks to move the plot. How the flashbacks are triggered is seamlessly and creatively done.

Jeong-min Hwang (of New World fame) who plays Duk-soo, gives his character a cheeriness balanced with a sense of dogged purpose. His positive energy is affable and infectious, and his stubborn bickering with his wife and good friend, the source of many jokes. Dal-su Oh, Korea's busiest supporting actor plays Duk-soo's best friend, Dal-gu through the years. Their relationship is painted with much comedic strokes and full-hearted poignancy without those usual skull-numbing stylistics.

The immediate film you will no doubt compare this Korean film with is Forrest Gump which isn't a bad thing. But the similarity is only with its use of historical events. With Forrest Gump, a man is sanctified to God-like status and he unknowingly changes history, but with this one it doesn't walk that path. This is a story of a man whose his father's parting words at Hungnam haunts him to his core and he would take the entire duration of his life to live up to his father's words. The movie maintains an even tone throughout and I feel it is the historical events that change him. This is a film possessing a remarkable balance of sentimentality and harshness, light and darkness.

This is a very touching and heartwarming (but also heart breaking) movie.

I watched this with a friend who insisted I check it out. Usually I avoid movies that are foreign which have subtitles because I hate having to try to read to keep up with the dialog and story. Because that always means that I am missing some of the visuals appearing on screen.

This movie was pretty slow. I don't want to say too much or spoil it but it's basically about a Korean boy who makes a vow that he will take care of his family which he then has to live up to for the rest of his life.

Amazingly acted although I obviously don't recognize anyone in it or any names of the crew or directors. Just a great example of a touching drama with a story that sticks with you long after you leave the theater.

In spite of being set in times of war and how families were separated during that time. What they had to go through right from their childhood till their old age.

But the universal feeling that really teared my heart apart was how we are so fortunate to be close to our parents and their generation yet there's so little we know or rather understand about their lives.

It's a touching film about a son's journey. It was a hard journey. Was it worth it or not... That's left to us. But he had to take that journey because he promised his father.. He had to wait for his father, because his father promised him.

This film begins in the present time and is about a crotchety old man, Duk-Soo. Then, suddenly the film jumps back to 1950 when his family found themselves in the middle of a war zone. His father, mother and three siblings all scrambled to climb aboard a US ship for safety in the South. But as Duk-Soo (probably only about 8 years old at the time) climbed up the rope ladder with his sister on his back, the tiny girl fell off...and you assume she's drowned. The father climbs off the ship to look for her and before going, he tells Duk-Soo he's the man of the family until he returns. But it's total chaos there and the father never returns. As the years pass, Duk-Soo takes his responsibility to care for his family EXTREMELY seriously, working long, long hours and often working abroad in dangerous places...all to put his younger brother through college and to care for his mother and extremely ungrateful sister. Eventually, near the end of the film, after working a lifetime to support his family, there is a break when a Korean TV program works to reunite families torn apart by the war...even though decades have passed.

The film is an incredibly moving experience--especially the last hour or so. It's all about the burden that Duk-Soo carried and how responsible and decent he is...and how so often the family and extended family cannot understand his work ethic. It's a wonderful microcosm of the Korean experience of the last 65 years--as Duk- Soo's story is one which undoubtedly resonates with many elderly Koreans today. Exquisitely made and well worth seeing.