Friend

An Excellent Story of Friendship, Loyalty, and Betrayal... (4.5/5)
Friend follows four friends, with different personalities, from childhood to adulthood, as their friendships are tested- and they are tested constantly. Friend is an excellent story of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal.

The story in Friend goes over a large time span, from the 70s to 90s. It shows the strength of their relationship, during their happiest moments and their roughest times, and the decisions they make and how they affect each other. Their bond is tested even further when two of the friends become rival gang bosses. Themes of loyalty and betrayal are evident. The ending of the film is also compelling. The movie really succeeds in making the audience question the definition of "Friend". The film blends drama, some action, and some comedy to make a balanced experience; the pacing is also smooth and consistent. The acting is superb from the entire cast. The music is also excellent- it fit perfectly in many scenes. There are a few ideas and concepts it throws in...

Classical Korean style drama
I am a Korean born in the U.S. I'm not used to Korean movies. But I've watched a handful and I enjoyed watching them. Most of the Korean movies I saw had Jang Dong Gun as the star- such as Friend. Korean movies are low budget in comparison to American movies. And they have a dramatization that may seem cheesy or overly romanticized. But, I get it. Koreans in Korea are more open than Americans, particularly when it comes to their "boys." So, the kinship that you in movies reflect the closeness that men have with each other, that feels different than the strong American men relationship that us Americans are accustomed to.
Anyways, I enjoyed the movie. I am Korean, so take that into consideration. I'd watch it again.

Perhaps the greatest Korean cinema. Includes deleted scenes.
There isn't a person in Korea over 13 who hasn't seen this movie. This movie, to say the least, is generally considered a classic and perhaps the greatest movie Korea has ever produced. But I would be short-changing this movie by saying it is a great Korean cinema, it is really a great cinema by any standards.

The characters really captures your emotions. The friendships between the main characters really start to matter. The movie takes about 30 minutes to hit its stride, but once it does, it is hard to stop watching, even after watching the same scenes repeatedly.

This is not a romantic movie. It isn't a comedy. It isn't about the modern Korea and its "gangnam style" culture. If you want to know what is hip in current Korea, you will be disappointed.

To understand the complexity of this movie, it really helps to have some understanding of the Korean culture and how it has evolved since the 1970's.

There are lot of deletes scenes in the...

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