The Way Home – City Boy Meets Country Lee Jeong Hyang's thoughtful film examining the differences of city-bred kids (and their parents) with the lives of their isolated grandparents in an outback, unsophisticated peasant village. This simple Korean tale unfolds at a leisurely pace as we follow the care and attention freely given by a grandmother to her daughters 7yr old son - underlining the astute differences of those leading a simple sparse life, against those with more than they truly need, breeding an attitude of expectant selfishness. The visuals, both rich and sparse are accompanied by a simple but mostly pleasing musical score reminiscent in style (but not as lush) as earlier classics like ‘The Red Balloon' and ‘Louisiana Story'. The boy (and Grandmother played by Kim Eul Boon who at 78 had never even seen a movie before!) are well cast and richly played - with some grueling scenes of the hardships that make up the everyday life of this simple, hardworking woman, etching out an existence in a harsh environment and selflessly giving of herself for her visiting charge. A good comparative piece for thoughtful audiences.

This movie is touching every heart. There is nothing much, only emotional from "mute" grandmother and spoiled boy. The reaction of both the boy and grandmother is so real. Lovely and this would make every miss you granny.

A heart warming story of a little boy sent to live with his grandmother in a very rural district while his mother searches for a new job. At first he is disrespectful of his mute grandma and the fact that she doesn't have all the comforts he is used to, plus he is really a spoiled brat. But gradually he sees that she is trying to be kind and get him what he wants, so that he begins reciprocate in small ways and stop thinking solely about himself and what he wants as the most important things in the world--a lesson many adults never learn.

I bought multiple copies of this movie years ago on VHS. This movie is beautiful and it's perfect for any English Language Learner as it has a lot more action than dialogue. I absolutely adore this movie and now that I'm a 9th grade HS teacher I am introducing it to my students. It's a great movie to teach characterization because the main characters arc is so clean and easy to identify for students. It's an homage to all grandmothers!

Rotten kid. How many times was I that horrible and my grandma that good. Tearjerker.

a simple story, no action, nor surprises. but i loved it, i loved it so much that, since i watched it, i cannot bear to watch hollywood movies. my taste in movies changed completely, i said "so it is possible to shot the perfect movie without any exaggeration, action, special effects, surprise or whatsoever!"

Rating: 73% Although it can be unfocused at times, The Way Home is a heartwarming and sometimes humorous film that keep the kids and adults entertained.

A spoiled, loud mouth brat. A mute, hunchback granny. An emotional breakdown-inducing boiled chicken. They all came together one day in a derelict wooden cabin in South Korea's deep rural countryside and created a deeply satisfying magic little film of universal appeal. That is exactly what happened in Jeetongma, in the Northern Gyeongsang Province of South Korea back in 2002. As far fetched a concept as it sounds, reality is even more implausible, as is often the case. Of its two main protagonists, one was an 8 year-old first time actor (Seung-Ho Yoo) and another an ethereal and majestic 78-year Eul-boon Kim who had never watched a film, let alone act in one. Both achieved what many a seasoned actor seeks to achieve and often fails: a performance of poetic understatement, rhythmic grace and profound meaning. To be honest, nothing much really happens in the film 'The Way Home'; its language is that of emotions and of as fewer words as possible. The plot boils down to a single mother who turns to her own elderly mother for support after a failed business venture and who leaves behind her son with her, so to be able to get back on her feet. The city boy/brat is predictably not particularly happy with this new arrangement. He misses his KFC and he is stuck in a home without electricity, water or a bed, let alone a supply of fried American chicken. He sulks, cries, kicks and screams. The grandmother shows limitless tolerance and unconditional love that only age can bring. She belongs to the clan of the Earth, as poetically depicted in one single lingering shot where she sits at the door, overseeing the countryside forest, swaying in synch with the trees as the wind ruffles through the leaves. She is a creature of forrest. The land, its people, its demands: that is all she has ever known. It has never occurred to her to ask for more because in her world, there isn't more to ask for. She takes from the land the sustenance she needs for herself, whether for consumption or sale in the dusty rundown market. She is a weathered trunk, the hunchback betraying the hardships of the seasons taking their toll. Hers is the realm of simple pleasures: fleeting jocose moments with friends as weathered as her, the triumph that is managing to scrape deep enough to be able to afford a chicken and boil it for supper. He, on the other hand, belongs to the clan of game boy players. He has little patience to see through the seasons. He is incapable of being in synch with the rhythms of the land. And being in synch with them is pretty much all there is to do where he suddenly finds himself. He represents the present and future of South Korea; she the past. Without him, South Korea would have never risen from the ranks of deprivation, poverty and war. Without her, South Korea runs the risk of losing its soul. He expects and demands of life; she simply rides it. Naturally, matters come to a head and the age hold question of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmoveable one is finally answered. They create unity by learning from each other's strengths. Far from being a children's morality tale, the plot actually skews any simplistic moral dogmatisms. The reality is that whilst the dignified grandmother, by force of persistence and unyielding permanency, does instil in the little boy a timeless sense of respect, moral rectitude and of right and wrong, she too learns a lesson. She learns that simply because things have always been a certain way, they don't necessarily have to continue to be so. The grandson becomes the first and likely only person to ever acknowledge her beyond her obvious muteness and dignified silence. He teaches her how to communicate and write because, in the end, he cannot bear the thought of having to go and not being able to know if she is alright (read 'if she is alive'). And because after decades of illiteracy, written eloquence is a tough ask, he develops a unique visual language between her and him, much like the singular world that they built during their brief time together that only they can inhabit. And we are the lucky witnesses of the unfolding of that magical, intimate world. In the end, the unmovable and unstoppable forces learn that they don't oppose each other as much as they complement one another. You, on the other hand, will wail over a boiled chicken, a dilapidated bus and ugly drawings in crumpled sheets of paper. Oh well... https://cinephiliaetc.wordpress.com/

its a movie which teach us something.

This movie is very boring and this is the worst movie

Forgive us all who believe what this seven year-old really needs is a good thrashing. Instead he is sentenced to a summer with his grandmother who beats the tar out of him with selflessness and unconditional love. Give in to the sentimental side of your brain and you will be rewarded with a wonderfully paced minor miracle - and a mad cow chase !

What a tear jerk movie. Despite its lowbudgetness, you can really feel the emotions of the main characters and a grandmother's love.

Excellent film coréen, vu ce matin avec mes CM1... Jiburo ou la confrontation d'un jeune citadin capricieux et mal élevé avec toute l'humilité de sa grand-mère, muette et analphabète. Très émouvant...

A gentle film that keeps the blood boiling from the extremely selfish kid's actions, but he gradually wins you over. Warning: It will make you miss your Grandmas.

¿Cuantas pelas gringas abarcan el tema de convivencia entre dos personas diametralmente opuestas, con mediocres resultados? Esta no se parece a ninguna de ellas. Es gradual, es poetica, atrapante casi sin dialogo, es una pelicula que debes ver con tus hijos. Una de mis favoritas de todos los tiempos.

Simple and touching, but slow.

I hate that kid.....he's a real dickhead. Spoilt the film.

ah.. still angry with that boy.

Wah, cerita yang cukup mengharukan, sampe bikin gw mewek. Kisah seorang anak kota yang harus tinggal dengan neneknya saat liburan di kampung halaman. Tadinya si cucu ini nyuekin dan gag nganggep neneknya. Tapi kebaikan hati, kesabaran, dan ketulusan sang nenek yang bisu dalam merawatnya selama tinggal dengannya, membuat si anak ini tersentuh dan mulai menyayangi neneknya. Sampe pas harus pulang ia menangis karena gag mau pisah dengan neneknya. Film ini didedikasikan untuk para nenek di dunia ;)). Oya, pemeran utamanya si Cuncu (Yu Seung Ho) pas masih kecil lho, uda ganteng aja dari kecilnya ni anak :D

Terharu sekali melihat film ini. Menyoroti hubungan sang nenek dan sang cucu yang baru pindah dari kota ke kampung karena ditipkan oleh ibunya. Perbedaan jaman,pengetahuan dan segala hal membuat mereka seolah tidak nyambung. Tapi lama-kelamaan hubungan mereka mampu mengetarkan siapa saja yang melihatnya.