{Movie Poster: The Way Home}
The Way Home is a 2002 film
written and directed by Lee Jeong-hyang. At the time it was first premiered, it
was a huge success, as the story plot and the casts were unique. It was the
second-highest grossing homegrown film in the year it was produced. It tells
the heart-warming story about a grandmother and her city-born grandson.
Plot Summary:
The story begins on one sunny
summer day when Sang-woo and his mother board to bus to the countryside. The
mother is taking the son to live with his old grandmother, who is old-fashioned
and mute. The scene where they arrive at the grandmother’s worn down house
presents the audience with the representation of the city and the countryside
put side by side. This grand introduction of the paradox is the door to all the
rejection, miscommunication, conflicts, and eventually connection and
unconditional love.
{Jeetongma, the town where the
film was shot}
Jeetongma is located in North
Gyeongsang Province. It is the actual home of Sang-woo’s grandmother. During
the summer, the region is perhaps the hottest province in South Korea. It is
largely surrounded by mountains: the Taebaek Mountains in the east and the
Sobaek Mountains in the west.
The first major conflict
occurs when Sang-woo’s Game Boy (an electronic game machine) runs out of
battery. He asks his grandmother for money to buy batteries; however, she tells
him she does not have enough.. Unable to understand his grandmother, Sang-woo rebels
by breaking her chamber pot, throwing away her shoes, and drawing graffiti on
her house walls. Still unsuccessful at getting the money, he tries to sell one
of her hairpins. Thankfully, the man Sang-woo tries to sell the hairpin to is
grandmother’s friend, thus scolding the grandson and sending him back home.
{Sang-woo refuses to face his
grandmother}
Sang-woo is angry that his
grandma can’t afford to buy him new batteries for his game machine.
{Gameboy}
This is the famous “Gameboy”
that Sang-woo loved playing with.
Unhappy with his changed
environment, Sang-woo disrespects his grandmother by calling her names and in
another major conflict, leaves his grandmother on the streets for a girl he has
a crush on. One day after the grandmother is finished with selling vegetables
on the streets for the day, Sang-woo asks her to buy him snacks. She goes to
the store while his grandson waits at the bus stop. When she returns with an
armful of Choco-pies, he turns her down by telling her to take the next bus because
he wants to take the bus with her crush and without her grandmother.
{Choco-pie}
Sang-woo waits for his
grandmother at home, but she does not return until really late at night. It is
later revealed that instead of taking the next bus, the grandmother chose to
walk home because she wanted to save the money to buy new batteries for
Sang-woo.
{Sang-woo crying after receiving money from his grandmother}
Despite all the insults and
mistreatment by her grandson, the mute grandmother truly shows unconditional
love. By the time Sang-woo finally grows to understand his grandmother’s love, his
mother sends a message that he will be able to return hom soon.
Bittersweet at this news,
Sang-woo attempts to do as much as he could for the grandmother before he
leaves. He tries to teach her how to write, so that she could let him know if
she becomes ill or misses him. He strings as many needles as he could for her
grandmother. Both Sang-woo and the audience sheds hot tears when it is time for
him to leave.
{Sang-woo teaching his grandmother how to write}
{Sang-woo gives his hand-written letter to his grandmother before he leaves for the city}
This paradox between the city
and the countryside is the main theme of the film. The seemingly opposite
entities come together and are able to prove to the audience every
grandmother’s unconditional love.
This film was is and will be remembered to the Koreans as the grandmother-grandson film, a really heart-touching one. I can say with confidence that 99% of the people who watched this teared up at the grandmother's unconditional love for her grandson. Recently, the two characters met up and were aired on a show. It gave me a sense of grandmother's journey to the city to visit her grandson.
{The actual characters meet up recently}
