Way Back Home
Directed byBang Eun-jin
Written byYoon Jin-ho
Produced byIm Sang-jin
Jang Won-seok[1]
Kang Myeong-chan
Seo Young-hee
Starring
CinematographyLee Mo-gae
Edited byKim Sun-min
Music byKim Jun-seong
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • 11 December 2013 (2013-12-11)
Running time
107 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box office$12.8 million[2]

Way Back Home (Korean: 집으로 가는 길; RR: Jibeuro Ganeun Gil) is a 2013 South Korean drama film starring Jeon Do-yeon and Go Soo, and directed by Bang Eun-jin.[3][4] It is based on the true story of an ordinary Korean housewife who was imprisoned in Martinique for two years after being wrongfully accused of drug smuggling at a Paris airport.[5][6][7][8]

This is the first time a Korean film was shot in the Caribbean, as well as the first to feature actual guards and prisoners as supporting characters. Filming took place over three weeks at a women's prison in Martinique.[9][10]

Plot

Jeong-yeon (Jeon Do-yeon) and Jong-bae (Go Soo) are a happily married couple with a young daughter; they pour their savings into an auto repair shop only to have the rug pulled out from underneath them when a friend of Jong-bae's commits suicide after he is unable to pay his loans. Since Jong-bae acted as his friend's guarantor, the debt now falls onto them. With Jong-bae gradually growing despondent following their financial turmoil, Jeong-yeon makes the hard decision to do a job for a seedy acquaintance. She agrees to deliver diamonds from Paris to Seoul, which she thought would be legal. Jeong-yeon arrives in France, but as soon as she sets foot in Orly Airport she is arrested and police discover more than 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of cocaine in her bag. Being thrown in a French jail is only the beginning of her troubles as legal wranglings and an indifferent Korean embassy in France soon see her shipped off to a penitentiary on the far-flung island of Martinique, a French territory in the Caribbean, where she is jailed for two years without being tried in court. Back in Korea, her husband does his best to get through to the diplomats and secure her passage home.[11]

Cast

  • Jeon Do-yeon as Song Jeong-yeon
  • Go Soo as Kim Jong-bae
  • Ryu Tae-ho as Consul Bang
  • Bae Sung-woo as Section chief Chu Dae-yoon
  • Kang Ji-woo as Hye-rin
  • Joanna Kulig as Yalka
  • Corinne Masiero as "Hellboy"
  • Lee Dong-hwi as Gwang-sik
  • Choi Min-chul as Seo Moon-do
  • Heo Joon-seok as Soo-jae
  • Park Hyung-soo as Seoul District Prosecutors' Office detective
  • Park Yoon-hee as KBC TV reporter Shin Cheol-ho
  • Park Ji-il as Police officer Lee Soo
  • Lee Do-kyeong as Department head Joo
  • Jean-Michel Martial as Martinique judge
  • Antoine Blanquefort as Martinique prosecutor
  • Hugues Martel as New defense lawyer Olivier Bécourt
  • Catherine Baugue as original Martinique defense lawyer
  • Park Ji-hwan as Ha Tae-gwang
  • Seo Jin-won as Sang-cheol
  • Oh Yeon-ah as Lee Soo-ji
  • Chae Yoo-hee as Ji-hye
  • Dong Hyo-hee as Jong-bae's older sister
  • Marie-Philomène Nga as "250 years old"
  • Feliné Quezada Figueroa as "Gangster #1"
  • Gastner Legerme as Ducos driving prison officer
  • Seo Byeong-cheol as Interrogating detective Choi Jo
  • Kim Mi-kyung as landlady
  • Son Young-joo as YTN newsreader
  • Kim Seon-ju as French interpreter
  • Pascal Vallet as French plainclothes policeman
  • Kim Su-hyeon as Bang's wife
  • Lee Sa-bi as KBC TV writer
  • Kang Myeong-chan as KBC TV cameraman
  • Jang Gwang as Korean ambassador to France (cameo)
  • Kim Hae-gon as Deputy driving car owner (cameo)

Background

On 30 October 2004, Jang Mi-jeong was arrested at Orly Airport in France for smuggling a suitcase filled with 17 kilograms (or 37 pounds) of cocaine. Jang said she had no idea what it contained; she had been given a bag by her husband's friend, whom she had known for more than 10 years, and was told it was filled with unpolished gemstones. Jang had agreed to carry the suitcase from Guyana to the Netherlands via France in return for ₩4 million (US$3,740). After getting caught at Orly, Jang was jailed near Paris for three months awaiting trial. Then, after being found guilty, she was sent to a prison in French-administered Martinique in the Caribbean. She finally returned to Korea two years later on 18 November 2006. Her friend was eventually arrested as well and sentenced to serve 10 years in jail. Jang's story was later featured on In Depth 60 Minutes, a KBS investigative-documentary show, in 2006.[12] In 2013, Jang published the book Lost Days, recounting her ordeal and her life after returning from prison, particularly her difficult re-adjustment to Korean society and the ostracism she and her two daughters faced.[13]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been criticized by Jang and the filmmakers for its handling of the incident, citing their "diplomatic negligence" and calling them irresponsible when it comes to protecting Koreans abroad. Foreign Ministry officials have insisted that the story in the movie is not the whole truth.[14]

Box office

Way Back Home was released in theaters on 11 December 2013. The film recorded 610,000 admissions on its opening weekend, placing second in box-office sales.[15] It ended up selling a total of 1,854,702 tickets, with a gross of ₩13,048,981,745.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 5th KOFRA Film Awards [16]Best Actress Jeon Do-yeon Won
9th Max Movie Awards Won
19th Chunsa Film Art Awards Nominated
50th Paeksang Arts Awards Nominated
23rd Buil Film Awards[17] Nominated
51st Grand Bell Awards[18] Nominated
35th Blue Dragon Film Awards[19] Nominated
34th Golden Cinema Festival Best Actor Go Soo Won

References

  1. ↑ Tae, Sang-joon (30 September 2013). "JANG Won-seok, Producer of WAY BACK HOME: Aligned with the Audience". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  2. ↑ "Way Back Home". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  3. ↑ Tae, Sang-joon (14 November 2013). "WAY BACK HOME Nears Release Date: Cast and Director Participate in Press Conference". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  4. ↑ Song, Soon-jin (28 January 2014). "PANG Eun-jin, the Director of Way Back Home: "I Want to Make Films That Audiences Respond To"". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  5. ↑ "Jeon Do-yeon Plays Inmate on Tropical Island in Latest Flick". The Chosun Ilbo. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  6. ↑ Lee, Claire (12 December 2013). "Jeon Do-yeon speaks about her latest movie, motherhood". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  7. ↑ Jung, Ji-won (20 December 2013). "After 2 years, Jeon finds way home". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  8. ↑ Song, Soon-jin (28 January 2014). "JEON Do-yeon in Way Back Home and Memories of the Sword: From Actress to Mother, and Mother to Actress". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  9. ↑ Lee, Hyo-won (5 December 2013). "Cannes-Winning Actress Jeon Do-yeon Returns in South Korea's Way Back Home". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  10. ↑ Elley, Derek (12 March 2014). "Way Back Home". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  11. ↑ Conran, Pierce (23 December 2013). "In Focus: Way Back Home". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  12. ↑ Lee, Claire (18 November 2013). "Upcoming movie features real-life drug smuggling case". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  13. ↑ Hong, Joo-hee (8 January 2014). "Getting home was only the start of the story". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  14. ↑ Hong, Joo-hee (8 January 2014). "Reel life: When cinema tackles true events". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  15. ↑ Song, Soon-jin (23 December 2013). "Box Office: December 5-18, 2013". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  16. ↑ "Snowpiercer is Korean film reporters' pick of 2013". The Korea Herald. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  17. ↑ Kim, June (6 October 2014). "SHIM Eun-kyung, SONG Kang-ho, HONG Sangsoo and ROARING CURRENTS Win at 23rd Buil Film Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  18. ↑ Kim, June (12 November 2014). "The 51st Daejong Film Awards Nominations Announced". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
  19. ↑ Kim, Nemo (17 December 2014). "The Attorney Takes 4 Trophies at Korea's Blue Dragon Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
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