Welcome to the article best of Korean cinema, in which we look at the best Korea has to offer since it explosion of quality films and output since 200. We look at everything from emotionally heightened Romances to the uniquely Korean line of comedic thrillers. This time we are looking at the output of Kang Je-Gyu, although we aren’t covering his debut film. Shiri (Swiri) was a personal introduction to the new wave. The films we will be covering are Brotherhood and My Way, two thematic companion pieces looking at personal drama in the Korean world war and World War II.
Brotherhood
Directed by Kang Je-Gyu
Written by Ji-hoon Han, Kang Je-kyu & Sang-don Kim
2004, South Korea
Kang Je-Kyu’s sophomore effort is the first of his war films and this time it is the Korean Civil War that draws attention. Won Bin (Jin-seok Lee) and Jong Dong-gun (Jin-tae Lee) are...
Brotherhood
Directed by Kang Je-Gyu
Written by Ji-hoon Han, Kang Je-kyu & Sang-don Kim
2004, South Korea
Kang Je-Kyu’s sophomore effort is the first of his war films and this time it is the Korean Civil War that draws attention. Won Bin (Jin-seok Lee) and Jong Dong-gun (Jin-tae Lee) are...
- 12/2/2012
- by Rob Simpson
- SoundOnSight
The beaches of Normandy were most likely filled with many surprises on D-Day, but one of the most unexpected had to have been Us soldiers finding a Korean man surrendering to them while wearing a German uniform. His footnote in history forms the basis of the most expensive Korean film ever made, My Way. Kim Jun-shik is a Korean farmer’s son who even as a young boy is known for his love of running. The late twenties saw Japan invade and retain control of Korea, and when a new Japanese headmaster arrives Jun-shik immediately forms a rivalry with the man’s spoiled son, Tatsuo Hasegawa. The two boys compete through their teen years and carry that battle of wills into WWII when Jun-shik and many other Koreans are conscripted to fight for the Japanese against the Allies. The film follows Jun-shik through a deadly series of explosive adventures and sadistic nightmares that eventually lands him in...
- 5/12/2012
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Review by David Henry
The Korean film My Way is an ambitious, continents-sprawling epic set against the backdrop of World War II, and simultaneously an intimate drama about two men who find themselves swept up in the tsunami of history, with their destinies intertwined. In some ways it is not unlike Ben Hur, minus the Christian elements. Filmmaker Kang Je-kyu, known in his native land as a top-notch director of action films, demonstrates an uncanny ability to juggle both of these normally disparate elements in a way that seems effortless, so that the movie feels big and small at the same time. In a way, it almost feels like three or four films playing back-to-back, or even an epic miniseries. Kang is telling a very episodic story here, one that eschews the traditional Western 3-act model of filmmaking and adapts a 4-act structure which makes the film seem longer than its 143 minute running time,...
The Korean film My Way is an ambitious, continents-sprawling epic set against the backdrop of World War II, and simultaneously an intimate drama about two men who find themselves swept up in the tsunami of history, with their destinies intertwined. In some ways it is not unlike Ben Hur, minus the Christian elements. Filmmaker Kang Je-kyu, known in his native land as a top-notch director of action films, demonstrates an uncanny ability to juggle both of these normally disparate elements in a way that seems effortless, so that the movie feels big and small at the same time. In a way, it almost feels like three or four films playing back-to-back, or even an epic miniseries. Kang is telling a very episodic story here, one that eschews the traditional Western 3-act model of filmmaking and adapts a 4-act structure which makes the film seem longer than its 143 minute running time,...
- 5/4/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“My Way,” from one of Korea’s most famous and acclaimed directors, Kang Je-kyu, is a venture of expansive and expensive proportions, recounting two men’s overlapping lives, set against the backdrop of the Second World War. The film opens with a runner suddenly taking the lead at the 1948 Olympic Marathon in London. Just as quickly, we are pulled 20 years back and half the world away, to Korea under Japanese occupation. Two young boys – one the grandson of a prominent Japanese official, the other his Korean servant – run a footrace, and the metaphor for national conflict commences. Shots of their running feet transition from this playful moment to all-out competition, as the boys are swiftly replaced with teenaged versions of themselves, involved in a heated rivalry.
By 1938, the boys (well, men now) are competing in the Olympic trials, hoping for a spot on the Japanese marathon team in 1940. When the Korean competitor,...
By 1938, the boys (well, men now) are competing in the Olympic trials, hoping for a spot on the Japanese marathon team in 1940. When the Korean competitor,...
- 5/1/2012
- by Emma Bernstein
- The Playlist
One would be hard pressed to argue that My Way is anything but an epic film. The size and scope of the story is daunting, but just because something is long and dense doesn’t mean it is also engaging. Erratic quick cuts wither what is a fairly by-the-numbers war movie that has some pointed but interesting things to say. Set in Seoul in 1938, the film follows the journey of two Japanese and Korean rivals who eventually fight in the war together against China. They survive battle after battle and through their travels discover a bond that is stronger than hate: getting home. Over 137 minutes we see a story told on a grand canvas that ends up in remarkable places.
The film begins with the story of a rich Japanese boy named Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri) and his family who goes to live with his grandpa in modern day Korea.
The film begins with the story of a rich Japanese boy named Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri) and his family who goes to live with his grandpa in modern day Korea.
- 4/26/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Chicago – In our latest epic World War II edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 10 admit-two run-of-engagement anytime movie passes up for grabs to the new film “My Way” from Korea’s game-changing director Je-kyu Kang! Pick your own showing!
Inspired by true events, “My Way” stars Dong-gun Jang (as Jun-shik Kim), Jô Odagiri, Bingbing Fan, In-kwon Kim, Michael Arnold, Michael Frederick Arnold and Ismail Deniz from writer and director Je-kyu Kang and writer Byung-in Kim. In Chicago, “My Way” opened on April 20, 2012.
These anytime passes can be used at Chicago’s AMC River East and select AMC suburban locations at the showing of your choosing during the film’s theatrical run. To win your free anytime movie passes for “My Way,” just answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found below.
The movie...
Inspired by true events, “My Way” stars Dong-gun Jang (as Jun-shik Kim), Jô Odagiri, Bingbing Fan, In-kwon Kim, Michael Arnold, Michael Frederick Arnold and Ismail Deniz from writer and director Je-kyu Kang and writer Byung-in Kim. In Chicago, “My Way” opened on April 20, 2012.
These anytime passes can be used at Chicago’s AMC River East and select AMC suburban locations at the showing of your choosing during the film’s theatrical run. To win your free anytime movie passes for “My Way,” just answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found below.
The movie...
- 4/21/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
After world premiering at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival, My Way opens theatrically in NY and La on April 20 and will expand to additional cities on May 4th. My Way, an epic telling of a WWII story that no one has ever heard before, is the latest film from Korea.s game-changing Director Jegyu Kang.
After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the Soviets, the two eventually rely on each other for survival, making it to Germany, where...
After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the Soviets, the two eventually rely on each other for survival, making it to Germany, where...
- 4/17/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
My Way
Directed by Kang Je-gyu
Written by Kang Je-gyu and Kim Byung-in
South Korea, 2012
When Steven Spielberg made Saving Private Ryan, he set the modern day standard for an epic, moving war film. But for all his achievements, they were all but negated by his equally majestic failures in War Horse. However, in Kang Je-gyu’s My Way, the two seemingly incompatible narrative structures are fused together into one stunning, grandiose picture.
My Way tells the story of Kim Joon-sik (Jang Dong-gun) and Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri). During the Japanese occupation of the Asian peninsula, Tatsuo and his family move to Korea, where he lives with Kim and his family. When they both realize their mutual adoration of marathon running, their competitiveness, coupled with shared national resentments, lead to a fierce rivalry between the two.
When Japan goes to war with the Soviets, Kim and his friends are conscripted...
Directed by Kang Je-gyu
Written by Kang Je-gyu and Kim Byung-in
South Korea, 2012
When Steven Spielberg made Saving Private Ryan, he set the modern day standard for an epic, moving war film. But for all his achievements, they were all but negated by his equally majestic failures in War Horse. However, in Kang Je-gyu’s My Way, the two seemingly incompatible narrative structures are fused together into one stunning, grandiose picture.
My Way tells the story of Kim Joon-sik (Jang Dong-gun) and Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri). During the Japanese occupation of the Asian peninsula, Tatsuo and his family move to Korea, where he lives with Kim and his family. When they both realize their mutual adoration of marathon running, their competitiveness, coupled with shared national resentments, lead to a fierce rivalry between the two.
When Japan goes to war with the Soviets, Kim and his friends are conscripted...
- 4/17/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
Hey America, your chance to catch Kang Je-gyu's epic WWII drama My Way on the big screen as its meant to be experience will arrive next month and to promote this occasion, Wellgo USA has release a trailer. As mention before, the all star pan-Asian cast include Jang Dong-Gun, Joe Odagiri and Fan Bingbing.After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing...
- 3/9/2012
- Screen Anarchy
First off: shitty title, awesome looking movie. From the guy who gave us “Shiri” and “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War”, comes “My Way”, director Kang Je-Kyu’s first movie in over 7 years. Maybe he spent all that time making this movie, because from the trailer and exhaustive synopsis, “My Way” clearly is taking that whole “epic” tag seriously. Take a look at the U.S. trailer for the film below. After emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the Soviets,...
- 3/9/2012
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
ComingSoon.net has your exclusive first look at the poster for My Way , the war drama directed by Kang Je-kyu. Opening in theaters on April 20th, the film stars Jang Dong-gun, Joe Odagiri, Fan Bingbing, Kim In-kwon, Kim Hie-won, Oh Tae-kung and Kwak Jung-uk. It just received an R rating for "intense realistically graphic sequences of war violence." In My Way , after emerging as bitter rivals and enemies as young marathon runners, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa both find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. Jun-shik is there under duress, while Tatsuo is a powerful colonel. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is...
- 2/24/2012
- Comingsoon.net
On a hillside overlooking the beaches of Normandy, American soldiers surround a Korean and a Japanese man wearing Nazi uniforms. This is the second-most intriguing image of Mai-wei, the WWII epic from writer/director Je-gyu Kang. What’s even more fascinating is that the image is drawn directly from real life. How they got there (and into Hitler’s army no less) is a story told while trudging through the freezing mountains of Russia and the hot open plains of Korea. It’s an enormous movie, told through a decade as two competitive marathon runners – Jun-shik Kim (Dong-gun Jang) and Tatsuo Hasegawa (Jo Odagiri) – begin as alienated enemies and become friends through the brittle evolution of battle. Certainly its most striking achievements are the extended, highly-choreographed war scenes that steal the breath right out of your lungs. The visual style is an angrier version of Saving Private Ryan, but instead of beginning with Normandy, Mai-wei...
- 2/11/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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