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Friend (2001)

I have never heard of this film before I watched it. A friend of mine gave it to me and said that I must watch it, but I never managed to sit down and have a look at it. The two DivX CDs lay on my shelf catching dust and passing into oblivion. When I finally watched it, I was impressed by the film, but it didn't move me as emotionally as I was used to by several other Korean films I have watched before that. This was my feeling about the film that would become my favourite Korean film later. Obviously I needed to give it a second go and I was convinced enough by that film that I got the Ultimate Edition that comes with 2 DVDs, a booklet and a cardboard box and all this in a wonderful tin box.

Then when I re-watched it on DVD on a TV set I was really moved by the film and it got better with each time I watched it. It is most certainly a film I could watch over and over again without loosing my interest in it. I have since shown the film to many of my friends as well and they all love it. Friend is a film you should take your time for and which you shouldn't watch while doing something else. Maybe I was touched so much by it because I have a kind of similar circle of best friends and I was able to identify me and my friends with those depicted in this wonderful film. Many people believe that it is very much over-rated. Of course it has its flaws as every other film does. But let me talk about the storyline first. Director Kwak Gyeong-taek dedicated this film to his friends and to his family and he basically shot the story of his life. It's actually more about the life of his friends than of his own, but read on.

The film is divided into four parts each of which takes place in a different time setting. It starts off in 1976 when the four friends are about 13 years old. The story is narrated at some parts and the narrator is the smart Sang-taek (Seo Tae-hwa), the man who plays the part of director Kwak. We are introduced to his three friends. Lee Joon-suk (Oh- Seong Yoo) is the son of a gangster, Han Dong-su (Jang Dong Gun) is the son of an undertaker and Joong-ho is the funny guy of the group. We seen the four playing, chatting and also handling their first deal. The story then shifts to 1981. The four friends aren't meeting as often as before, because they went to seperate middle schools. Joon-suk and Dong-su go to one school and Sang-taek and Joong-ho go together to another one. The characters are now played by the main actors mentioned before, for the rest of the film, as they were portrayed by child actors before.

In a scene in which Sang-taek skips school to meet with the girl Jin-sook (Joon-suk's future wife) things start to get more interesting. They go to a skating rink and when Jin-sook is molested by bullies from a rival school Sang-taek pushes their leader to the floor. He gets up with a razor balde in his hand and threatens and humiliates Sang-taek. Joon-suk, Dong-su and Joong-ho come to help their friend and in the next scene we see the rival students on the floor getting their beating from Sang-taek and Dong-su.

Before I move on to the next period of time which the four friends experience I must tell you that although Joon-suk is the son of a gangster he is the one to say the most clever things during the whole film. Out of his three friends Sang-taek is the closest to him and when we leave 1981 into 1984 the last scene we see is both of them at night on the rooftop after a touching conversation between the two. Their close relationship becomes more and more obvious because Sang-taek is the only person to which Joon-suk can talk about his most personal matters. Of course the bond that has been establishing between the two serves for later dramatic parts, but don't let me spoil the film for you.

1984: Sang-taek and Joong-ho have been to a different city to study and now they return to visit their friends. What they experience is something they could never have imagined. Joon-suk has married but that is the only good news. He became a drug addict and Dong-su has gone to jail. Joon-suk's mother died and since he takes drugs his father has lost all his respect towards him. During that period you don't want to see Joon-suk anymore. Knowing what he has been through with his friends, it is a real pain watching him all wasted. This is also where I should mention Oh-Seong Yoo's great acting skills. You feel like you are seeing your own best friend totally degenerated.

However, the story continues and after a few turns and twists in the story, the next stop is in 1990 where we see Joon-suk having lost his drug-habbit and where he and Dong-su have become big in the gang.

I'm sorry, I can not give away too much as I don't want to take the responibility of having ruined your experience of the film. What I can say though is that you can't go wrong with Friend. Everything matches almost perfectly. The stunning cinematography, the editing and the gorgeous soundtrack make this film a unique experience. To add the physical and psychological aging of the characters has been made very believably. The actors are above average and really manage to deliver believable characters, especially Jang Dong Gun and Oh-seong Yoo on whose characters the story focusses later.

Many similar films tend to imply women in order to ruin a friendship or to create hatret between two friends. In a scene in Friend however, Joon-suk's wife asks Sang-taek after having an argument with Joon-suk, if he wanted to buy her a drink. When I watched the film for the first time I expected him to do it, because he was interested in the girl before his friend married her. However, he goes back inside to sit with his friend Joon-suk. This was the point when I realised that this is a very special friendship.

The film Friend in my opinion stands for fascination, laughter, shocks but also tears. This film is a must for anybody having a close friendship. One in which you would call your friends "brothers". I happen to have 3 very close friends and hence this film touches me everytime I watch it. Re-watching it is a must as well, because when you know the ending of the film, it is way more dramatic to witness what the four friends experience together. The times they were laughing together and the times they are struggling with each other. You will love to see them having brawls and conversations. If this film taught me something it is that every moment with your best friends is a precious one. I have so many thoughts about this film and I am sure after I release this review they will come back to my mind. Not only does the great but also simple storyline make this film what it is, but also tiny factors. You won't for example hear one gunshot in this film. Is it really a gangster film? As the title says, it is a film about friendship. A friendship with dramatic instances.

Although the story has been dealt with in previous films from Asia and Hollywood, Friend is in my opinion not really comparable to anything I have watched before. The man who casted the four actors as the friends did a great job and each time I will see one of the four I will surely be reminded of Friend.

Four friends...!

Sang-taek introduces his friendswith the following words:

"Joon-suk was the best fighter I ever saw. He once beat up a whole soccer team!"

"Joong-ho's mom often visited Japan on business, so he had lots of great stuff at home. He was also a big Bruce Lee-fan."

"We became friends with Dong-su in third grade, but it was two years before we learnt that his father was an undertaker."

Joon-suk fighting for his friends.

Joon-suk, the boss, with his men.

Dong-su, the boss, with his men.

Joon-suk says good-bye...

Written on September 29th 2003

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