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pheenixsun
Reviews
Jibeuro (2002)
Silence can be golden!
Commenter mwprods wrote below on date: 8 October 2002, this film "could probably flourish and impress even as a silent film." There is very little dialogue because the grandmother is a mute. This was a plus for me because for once I was able to keep up with the subtitles in a foreign film. Kidding aside, I was astonished by how such a quiet film touched me so. It makes me want to reevaluate my disdain for films from the silent film era. (I think I will hunt down "Metropolis" - I've heard critics speak highly of the silent film.) If you scan through all of the other comments you get suggestions for other films similar to Jibeuro (The Way Home).
From reading the other comments I was surprised to learn that it was the top grossing film of its year in South Korea. I know nothing about South Korea's film industry, but since it exports cars to the USA (Hyundai, Kia, etc), I assumed that their film industry would be similarly advanced. If it is, it is a pleasant surprise indeed that such a small film with first time actors ended up on the 'top of the heap'.
Imdb's page on the movie says that its available in DVD. I recommend people rent this sweet tale on a laid back weekend.
I plan to adopt a child within the USA's foster care system - many of which are difficult children. The grandmother character in this film showed me that with patience and persistence over possibly a long period of time one may get through to a difficult child - this film gave me more confidence that I could be successful as a foster parent.
Frequency (2000)
One of the best releases of 2000 and a father & son movie that complements Field of Dreams that will stand the test of time!
I just saw "Frequency" on its so called network premiere on ABC. This is the first time I've seen it since I saw it in the theaters. And I liked it almost as much as the first time.
I'm a 34 year old guy and I look back on the year 2000 and its movies and music with sentimentally like no other year since my high school & college years in the 80's. And this movie was one of the reasons for my sentimentality. Like Field of Dreams, it has as part of its many themes, baseball and the bond between fathers and sons - and its just as effective in helping us appreciate how important the (unfortunately underappreciated) father and son bond is through cinema. But that's just for starters. Imagine trying to pitch this movie to a studio head. The practice is to encapsulate it into a couple of words - a sound bite sort of - to make it 'sellable' for the studio head. Like a "buddy comedy", "for the female demographic", "dramedy", :sci-fi/adventure", "mystery/thriller", etc. There is no way to do that with this movie. Its part Sci-Fi, its part nostalgia/sentimental pic, part cop/mystery, part thriller, part family/father-son pic, part tear jerker, & I'm sure you can find more elements. There is simply no other movie like it - its an original. It complements Field of Dreams quite well in that it covers the same emotional territory but 'mines' it more directly. I will never forget where and at what time of my life I had seen these two movies when they were released in the theaters and how thoroughly satisfied I was - they were magical experiences. The Bravo channel did an episode of their "From Page to Screen" series on "Field of Dreams", and they spent a lot of time talking about how that movie brought grown men to tears when it came to the heartfelt subject matter of the father and son bond in this movie. Playing catch with your father for a boy is so much more than most women can probably understand. This movie evokes the same spirit.
It was good to see Dennis Quaid again in a crowd pleaser like this - the last time was in "Inner Space" with Martin Short and Meg Ryan. And it really seems to have launched the careers of the actor who played his son, James Caviezel, and the screenplay writer Toby Emmerich. Before this film, according to IMDb, Emmerich had been the soundtrack executive on many movies. After "Frequency", IMDb shows, he apparently became producer of many mainstream large budget movies. But he hasn't written another screenplay. Makes me curious as to how the screenplay came about and the writer's inspiration and why Emmerich hasn't gotten another on screen.
The only objectionable part of the film was the graphic, sadistic visuals of the victims of the Nightingale Serial Murderer. If they were much more tame with that part of the story, it would have become more appropriate for entire families to enjoy as a classic for many years to come. In other words they should have gone for a 'PG' rating, instead of 'PG-13' rating, which IMDb says is "for intense violence and disturbing images" in the case of 'Frequency'. Otherwise it would have been a movie with something for all kinds of movie goers. I have a suspicion that New Line and its history of horror film making had something to do with it or that history has made them used to OKing and making that sort of story. Too bad. When I know in advance that a movie has those kind of scenes, I vote with my dollars and make it a point not 'patronize' them. Luckily, I don't think they used any of those scenes in their promotions. On those grounds I give this movie a 9 out of 10 stars (which is only 1 more than the average voted by IMDb voters at this time).
Actually, I don't remember it having much of a massive ad campaign. I had seen very little about it on the entertainment and talk show circuits - oh yeah - I didn't have a TV that year (with the quality of television & media in general it actually was a blessing really). It was good thing because, I imagine I had the kind of experience that people in the 1930's & 1940's did. Walking into a movie theater back then you had a totally novel/virgin experience of a film because you didn't get bombarded with commercials and trailers that give away half the movie as you do nowadays. I always treasure those movie experiences in which I discover it for the first time when I walk in the theater and I'm blown away by the experience of being immersed in a unique world. That was the kind of experience this movie was - leaving me walking on air afterwards for an hour or so. This movie deserves to stand the test of time like 'Field of Dreams'.