My Way is a South Korean war film from directer Kang Je-gyu. The film stars Jang Dong-gun as Jun-shik the passive and calm Korean whom's passion is running. The films other main character is Joe Odagiri as the passive-aggressive Tatsuo whom's passion is also running.
The Plot: Jun-Shik (gun) is a Korean living in 1930's Japan working as a rickshaw runner. He's not aloud to take part in sports events as he is Korean. Tatsuo (Odagiri) is his lifetime rival for various reasons, he's Japanese and is aloud to compete in the marathon events. I don't want to go any further with the story than that but to give you an idea without giving anything away, in short, an incident happens and one of them get's pushed into the army and one goes by choice and so begins their triumphant and epic story.
The Performances: Both Jang Dong-gun and Joe Odagiri are just as astonishing as each other, very emotional, very poignant performances, especially toward the end of the film, where the hard hitting emotion takes place, that being said the entire film is a triumph of emotional story-telling and events that truly do bring goosebumps from the beautiful opening scenes, to the dramatic ending.
The Technical Aspects: The cinematography is breathtakingly well done my Lee Mo-gae who also did the cinematography for I Saw The Devil, he's truly talented. There's one particular scene involving Jun-shik going after a sniper the camera movements and angles are absolutely mind-blowing, truly epic. Same goes for the editing.
The Writing: I've always found with foreign films it's hard for me to get a good idea on what I think of the script, but it is a great script, it never stood out, but that isn't a flaw, as I said, when reading the subtitles it's hard to pick up on it, plus, script has a lot to do with the way actors present lines, in English it's easier to pick up on. As I said, not a flaw.
Re-Watch-Ability: As of now I've only seen the film once, but it's not a one-watch-wonder let me stress that, it is one to re-visit in the coming months and guaranteed to be in awe of again and again.
The Verdict: My Way is a thing of cinematic beauty, the artistry behind the film-making is that of the highest order. The emotional core is strong, with great characters, tears flowing at the end. The film is a 10/10 from me, a must see, essential viewing for any fan of true cinema. Thank you for reading my review!
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