A
seven-year-old boy in the United States is likely to be sent
to summer camp to learn survival skills and perhaps a little
about himself. In The Way Home (Jibeuro),
Sang-woo (played by Seung-Ho Yoo) is parked by his mother
(played by Hyo-Hee Dong) in the rural hamlet of Youngdong
with his mute, aging grandmother (played by Eul-Boon Kim).
His mother, who left the village at the age of seventeen to
marry, has not seen her in all those years. Now divorced,
she says that her business in Seoul failed, so she needs time
to look for a job, and caring for a seven-year-old might interfere
with her search. Her explanation seems very odd indeed until
we see what a spoiled, self-centered, rude child he is. The
best films always have a plot in which one or more characters
undergo a transformation, and Sang-woo indeed learns a lot
during the six or so months while living with his grandmother.
At first, he wants to play and be entertained, but a remote
village is hardly Disneyland, so he is frustrated on that
account. He wants to eat his favorite foods, and indeed his
mother leaves Spam for him, but his grandmother cannot supply
Kentucky Fried Chicken. Instead, she buys a chicken, and fixes
a meal by boiling the chicken in a pot, a culinary opportunity
that he rejects until he gets very hungry. Despite all the
verbal abuse that he metes out at her, she remains helpful
and kind. He observes her very carefully, learns how to thread
a needle for her, and even how to put up washed clothes on
a clothesline to dry. When she has some vegetables to sell,
he accompanies her to the market, and she buys him new shoes,
which he later rejects as ugly. Nevertheless, she brings him
pastries, provided free by an old woman who is pleased that
his grandmother has taken the trouble to see her. Although
Sang-woo's mother gave grandmother a package of vitamins especially
designed for the elderly, she instead gives the package to
an elderly man in the hamlet who appears to be dying. Sang-woo
observes her acts of kindness without comment. Perhaps his
biggest lesson regarding humility is learned from Hae-Yeon
(played by Eun-Kyung Yim), a neighbor boy who always seems
to be dashing away from a runaway cow. One day in jest Sang-woo
warns Hae-Yeon to run fast in order to evade the cow, knowing
that no cow is chasing him, but he later apologizes. Then,
on another day, Hae-Yeon warns Sang-woo, who foolishly ignores
the warning and then runs too late, trips on the stony path,
scrapes skin off both knees, and apologizes again. When Sang-woo's
mother comes to collect him in the fall, he has learned the
virtues of honesty and caring for others, lessons even more
valuable than he would have learned at an American summer
camp. Interestingly, during the screening I happened to be
sitting next to a middle-aged Korean man, who frequently laughed
at the antics of the seven-year-old. What he found amusing
was how the child acted in an impish manner and then had to
learn the error of his ways on his own. For most urban Koreans,
many of whom journeyed to the remote hamlet of Youngdong because
of the film to see the nonprofessional actors, especially
the grandmother, the real message is that they should show
more respect to their grandparents. For Koreans, home is the
province from which their family came, so the film tells them
that they have been guilty of elder abuse if their parents
and grandparents are abandoned without proper food, clothing,
and shelter. Directed and written by Jeong-Hyang Lee, The
Way Home is dedicated to grandmothers around
the world. MH
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