Friend (2001)

Original title

친구

Directed by

Kwak Kyung-taek

Genre

action film, neo-noir

Country

South Korea

Runtime

1h 53m

Rated

16

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 101 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film follows a group of childhood friends in Busan whose lives diverge as they become involved in organized crime. It focuses on their bonds and how those bonds are tested by loyalty and violence.

broodingnostalgicgrittybittersweetintenserawtragic

What happens

Friend (Korean: 친구) is a 2001 South Korean neo-noir action film written and directed by Kwak Kyung-taek. Upon its release, it became the highest-grossing South Korean movie up to that time. Its record was surpassed in 2003 by Silmido. This film is the director's experiences with his friends, a semi-autobiography set in his hometown, Busan, and the actors speak with a strongly accented Busan dialect. The film changed the public images of Jang Dong-gun and Yu Oh-seong; previously, Jang had been famous for romantic comedies and Yu had appeared in movies with mostly cult interest. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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