Directed by Kwakkyungtaek, the film Friends revolves around the topic of loyalty, honor and friendship. As Joonsuk often says "We're friends, aren't we?", one of the most frequently stated quotations in the movie, this quotation implies Joonsuk's value in friendship. In the story of "Friends," despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grow up together making valuable memories as they wander around in the streets together, or help each other fight the bullies. However, as they grow older 4 childhood friends drift apart. Especially Joonsuk and Dongsu, both gangsters, who end up killing the other. Although they do seldom have reunions, they do not hang out as much as they did in school.
To be honest, after watching the film, there were more questions in my head rather than opinions and comments to be made about the movie. The fact that Jongsu gave a chance for dongsu to run away to Hawaii and not be killed, inspite the fact that Jongsu is a gangster who is cruel, does that actually make Jongsu "a friend" when he actually ordered Dongsu to be killed? Or did he order him to be killed? If so, why is the last scene where Jongsu is in court and confessing his action shown heroically? At the end Sangtaek even highfives Jongsu to perhaps encourage him when he goes to see Jongsu in jail.
One aspect of the movie that i thought was interesting was the "social identity crises and anxiety” (Choi, 63) . The scene where the high school teacher asks the occupation of the students' fathers indicates an significance put on the social and economic status in society. Since Jongsu had no choice in being the son of a gangster, he is disturbed and leaves the classroom that he may never come back to. Overall, although this meticulously and interestmovingly depicted and directed movie left me to ask more questions than to contemplate about the themes, the film was definitely one of the best gangster movies ever filmed in Korea .
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