Chingoo (Friend) (Chingu) poster & wallpaper

Dong-Kun Jang, Suh Tae Hwa, Oh-seong Yu

Despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes a different life path. After enrolling in college, ...( read more  read more... )Sang-taek and Joong-ho return to visit Dong-su (Jang Dong-gun) and Joon-suk (Yoo Oh-sung), only to find one of them in jail and the other on drugs. Slowly life takes difficult turns where friends become rivals in the crime world.

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87% liked it

3,207 ratings

Unrated, 113 min.

Directed by: Kyung-Taek Kwak

Release Date: March 31, 2001

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DVD Release Date: June 25, 2002

Stats: 179 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (179)

  • organgrinder136
    May 2, 2009
    organgrinder136
    confusing at times but ultimately satisfying. a gangster story about the relationship between friends involved in crime
  • DrBenway
    August 6, 2008
    DrBenway
    One of the most succesful films from Korea is this stylish gangster flick that follows a group of four friends over a period of almost three decades as their lives move from boyhood friendship. Two of the boys become members in rival gangs, while the other two pursue more conven...( read more)tional paths.

    The film goes deeper than most of its' kind in exploring the root of violence, from the sadistic school teacher who beats his children in the classroom to the killings of gang warfare. Gang violence is usually quick, intense and often exquisitely shot. The body count is high, however Kyung-Taek does care to show that when a man is stabbed to death, it is both brutal and intimate. At times feels more of a truly personal film than trying to deliver a message, it's still strong enough to recommend but it could've been a lot more. Worth viewing.
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  • kiriyamakazou
    December 17, 2006
    kiriyamakazou
    Another example as to why Korea is the leader in cinema right now. A gangster film that spans a large amount of time, we feel for every character and understand all their decisions. The relationships feel well fleshed out. The action and humour are also deposited with style. Some...( read more) incredible cinematography, especially in the rain murder scene.
  • threefolddado
    August 4, 2009
    threefolddado
    Good action/drama about how friendships drift apart.
  • skactopus
    August 4, 2009
    skactopus
    Spanning a period of around 20 years, Friend follows 4 ... well ... friends as they grow up and each choose their paths in life. It is a nice idea that is reminiscent of Stand By Me. In the beginning anyway.

    The younger years of the 4 friends are the more entert

    ...( read more)aining parts of the film and it is probably because of the mischievousness of the characters at a young age. The introduction of the characters with the freeze frames is also a nice touch. Slowly by slowly the story eventually becomes more and more bland. By the second half of the film the main focus is only on 2 of the friends, while the other 2 just appear from time to time. Its not that the story is bad, it just needs to be a little more eventful.

    The violence is somewhat bloody since the 2 characters that the film focuses on in the latter parts deals with Korean gangs. The language is also entertaining, since it gets highly offensive at times.

    The acting is one of the stronger elements of this picture. Dong-Kun Jang, who is no stranger to big Korean films, and Oh-seong Yu put on good performances. Tae-hwa Seo and Un-taek Jeong are good early, but slowly fade out as the film progresses. Bo-kyeong Kim is the lowly decent sized female character and she lacks the airtime to be anything really important.

    "Friendship" is the key theme with Friend and while this is nothing out of the ordinary, it is a pretty strong film out of Korea. I just think more is needed to make this a more interesting movie.
  • Homerisagod
    November 26, 2008
    Homerisagod
    would love to see this
  • levelboss15
    February 4, 2008
    levelboss15
    Powerful, moving and ultimately very tragic (hey, it's Korean!) flick that causes the viewer to truly question what one would do for a friend.
  • movementofahand
    December 18, 2007
    movementofahand
    My Favorite Mobster/Coming of Age tale. The ending still makes me cry. Seriously.
  • sungin121
    April 8, 2007
    sungin121
    a movie about friends really good, but lots of fighting

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