South Koreans have a way with film. In the last decade, they've had a particularly good run at presenting war stories, some from the World War II era and many others exploring the Korean War. I've had the good fortune of seeing several of them each one perhaps a bit better than the last and now I can add MY WAY to the burgeoning list of accomplishments. It's a big budget critical success that opens your eyes to the plight of people who find themselves equally at odds with themselves as they do the greater world around them.At a time when Japan ruled a smaller Korea, Kim Jung-shik (played by Jang Dong-Gun) and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa (Joe Odagiri) find themselves as bitter young rivals to the upcoming Olympics. When Kim and his fellow residents rebel against the Japanese authorities after stripping the young man of a chance to represent his country, they're all conscripted into the Japanese army. Their fates collide again as Kim's regiment is assigned to Tatsuo, now serving his country as an officer. When both are seized by the Soviets in a bloody battle, they'll slowly learn to trust one another again until they're separated by the invading German army. Eventually, they're reunited at Normandy Beach, only days before the fateful invasion of the Allied Forces, when destinies collide in this epic story of survival.
And it is a truly epic film. MY WAY features some powerful performances by all of the principles as well as some fantastic filmmaking at work on all levels. Director Je-kyu Kang has produced a masterpiece that explores personal conviction and redemption against the backdrop of the international stage. War is arguably the most horrific form of conflict to explore stories of one's humanity, but the script (which he co-wrote with Byung-in Kim) gives everyone here the chance to explore who they are as individuals as well as members of a greater society. Kim and Tatsuo end up drivers of their own cruel fates as they are victims of their time, always conscripted to serve some greater enemy. Where others sell out their souls in order to secure momentary freedom, these two men remain tied to their own convictions big or small, right or wrong and they suffer the consequences of their own prejudices. However, along the way, they manage to retain as much of their dignity as the circumstances allow, and they prove once again that even in the darkest of times there is some goodness to be found in the unlikeliest of friendships.
As for the completed product? The cinematography is breathtaking, at times, and heart-breaking at others. It's the kind of visual mix reserved for blockbuster films, of which MY WAY definitely deserves to sit side by side. The director clearly went to great lengths to capture these various terrains the stark beauty of open fields, the harsh claustrophia of the Russian winters, the majestic swells on the beaches of Normandy and adapt them to the message of each sequence, and it all looks solid and impactful. The musical score is equally impressive though perhaps a bit derivative at times.
MY WAY was produced by Directors, SK Planet, and CJ Entertainment. DVD distribution is being handled through Well Go USA. The disc looks and sounds exceptional the picture is stunningly crisp, and the audio is a terrific mix for both the big and the smaller elements. As is often the case with some of these foreign releases finding distribution in the US, there aren't tons and tons of special features, but, thankfully, MY WAY has a solid few: there's a `making of' featurette along with some behind-the-scenes material, cast interviews, and a director interview. Also, there's an English-dubbed track which I found helpful given the fact that there are sequences of some rapid-fire dialogue that just doesn't give this ol' pair of eyes enough time to read all of it. It clocks in at an impressive 143 minutes, but you wouldn't know it; it never felt overlong or overwrought in the slightest, as the focus retains a personal edge throughout.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. MY WAY continues to string of terrific war-related films out of Korea. Culturally, their artists have latched on to a winning, compelling formula of delivering tales of great conflict alongside some tragic and triumphant personal narratives. Granted, there were a few sequences one tinged with fairly predictable character-based humor that `cheapened' a few moments, but they're very, very small (and completely forgivable) when compared to the epic scope of the picture. MY WAY walks that line with excellent balance it's as frightening as it is inspiring and it's easy to see why the NYC Movie Guru dubbed it the "most powerful war film since SAVING PRIVATE RYAN."
In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to disclose that the good folks at Well Go USA provided me with a DVD screener copy of MY WAY by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review.
Read Best Reviews of My Way (2011) Here
This is the sort of film the word `epic' was coined for. It is a Korean World War II film that takes in China, Russia and Europe as its scenes for some really well done battles. It is based on `true events', and I suspected a lot of licence has been taken but have since found out that this is based on the life of a Korean captured by the Americans on D Day in a Wermacht uniform Yang Kyougjong.The film is the story of two men Jun-Shik (Dong-gun Jang `Brotherhood') and Tassuo (jo Odagiri `Shinobi'), the former is Korean and the latter Japanese. They are both keen runners and an early rivalry starts between them as children when Tatsuo's family move to the now conquered Korea to bring the Imperial Army jackboot down on the populace. An enmity soon grows between the two which is worsened by Japans decision to not allow Koreans to do the try outs for the Olympics.
As a result of the ensuing unrest many Koreans and press ganged or sentenced to fight in the Imperial Army, this happens to Jun-Shik and many of his friends, they are sent to China to further the war that has been raging there since 1937. They have to face Russian tanks with swords drawn and strap bombs to themselves as suicide attacks and it all kicks off. Hopelessly out numbered and out gunned they are taken prisoners of the Russians. This now begins the story of bitter struggle in the camps and the ensuing journey across Europe. To say any more would be a plot spoiler, but having said that there is rather a lot of plot so please don't think I have revealed too much already.
There are some great battle scenes and the action is all excellent as is the period detail and the languages are all authentic too, including Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, German and English; so this is obviously sub titled. There is rather a lot of CGI and it is all on the above average side, but considering the scope and ambition of this film, they could not have done it any other way.
This is from `Brotherhood' director Kang Je Kyu who has taken seven years off but made this in ten months, I just hope he doesn't need such a break this time. For location fans this was actually shot in Latvia, but I did not feel this lacked authenticity. Whilst this is unashamedly emotional as most Korean cinema is, it is still brimming with action and no on screen time is wasted, it is an edge of seat marathon with a run time of 2 hours and eighteen minutes, you get a 40 minute `making of' as an extra too. If you are a fan of the ever growing catalogue of Korean action films, then this is one you will want to add to your collection unmissable.
Magnificent. Overpowering. A true masterpiece. "My Way" is, in my view, one of the best movies about war ever, one that you will feel and live. Well Go USA brings us again another piece of Korean-Japanese history that desperately needed to be told, and it looks outstanding in its Blu-ray edition.
Helmed by Kang Je-Kyu, who was also responsible for "Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War" (2004), the film takes us to Korea, during the Japanese occupation of that country. We immediately meet Jung-shik Kim (Dong-gun Jang), whose father works for a high-ranked Japanese army officer, as well as Tatsuo Hasegawa (Jo Odagiri), grandchild of this officer, who comes to visit. Both Jung-shik and Tatsuo are very young, and they are excellent runners. Unfortunately, a tragedy happens which separates the families, and they never develop a friendship while growing up together. In addition, at the time, some, if not most, Japanese looked at Koreans as low-class people. Once they become adults the year is 1938 --, Tatsuo, who is wealthy, is due to go to medical school (against his will; instead, he wants to become an army officer) and Jung-shik, who is poor, becomes a rickshaw driver. Tatsuo, too, is running at the Olympic Games, representing Korea, which infuriates the Korean population. As a result, Tatsuo and Jung-shik have to compete for the Olympic trials, with Jung-shik winning, but being cheated by government officials who wanted Tatsuo at any cost. But fate intervenes and Japan goes to war, with the Koreans forced to join the Japanese army as "Imperial soldiers." As expected, both Jung-shik and Tatsuo go to war, and their paths will be crossing over and over for the next years, leading us to a surprising, dramatic end.
"My Way" is a story about redemption under the worst circumstances, and the battle scenes are as realistic as they can get, with amazing cinematography by Mo-Gae Lee and production design by Geun-hyun Cho. This is one grandiose production, also ignored by Hollywood. The Blu-ray includes a making-of feature, interviews with the director and Dong-gun Jang, and more. (South Korea, 2011, 143 min plus additional materials).
Reviewed on July 30, 2012 by Eric Gonzales for Well Go USA Blu-ray.
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