FRIEND

(a.k.a. CHINGOO; CHINGU)

The film begins in the summer of 1976, where we meet four Korean youths: hard nut Joon-Suk, whose dad runs the local Mafia; Don-su, a volatile boy with an undertaker for a father; joker Joong-Ho, whose mother frequently brings loads of cool stuff home for him from her business trips in Japan; and Sang-Taek, the more reserved of the quartet, and our narrator throughout this epic tale.

These early moments offer us a glimpse into a worry-free life for the four kids, and help establish how their friendship is built. From larking around in the sea to watching pornos on Joong-Ho's mother's VCR (or "TV recorder" as the lad calls it), we see how the foursome spends each waking minute with each other.

But then they get sent to different middle schools and lose touch for a couple of years. The action then shifts forward to 1981, where we meet the foursome reunited at college.

On their first day, the group gather excitedly and watch a band called Rainbow on the college grounds. Both Dong-su (Dong-Kun Jang, BROTHERHOOD; THE COAST GUARD) and Sang-Taek (Tae-hwa Seo, PUBLIC ENEMY) are struck by the pretty lead singer, Jin-Sook (Bo-kyeong Kim, EPITAPH).

Before long, it has been established that not only are Joon-Suk (Oh-seong Yu, STAR) and Don-su the bad boys of the college, but that Joon-Suk virtually rules the school and Don-su is his feared sidekick. Being the son of a gangster appears to have aided Joon-Suk's status considerably, and makes a violent teacher think twice about slapping him around again.

Joong-Ho (Un-taek Jeong, MY BOSS, MY HERO) catches studious Sang-Taek on a bus one morning and invites him over to a party at Joon-Suk's apartment. Initially reluctant to attend, Sang-Taek changes his tune when he learns that Jin-Sook will be there.

At the party, Sang-Taek is noticeably uncomfortable in Don-su and Joon-Suk's presence, having distanced himself from their antics in a bid to knuckle down and get good grades. But Joon-Suk puts him at ease by introducing the shy bookworm to Jin-Sook. The couple begin dating shortly afterwards and run into some bother at a roller disco - which Don-su and Joon-Suk resolve by battering the blokes threatening to give Sang-Taek a hiding.

A few days later though, the four friends go to the cinema and meet the gang from the roller disco again. A huge fight ensues which results in Sang-Taek being beaten, Joong-Ho being transferred to another school, Don-su getting expelled and Joon-Suk suspended.

It's at this point that Sang-Taek decides to leave and travel, with Joon-Suk reluctantly agreeing that it is perhaps time the friends went their own ways for a while.

Fast-forward three years to 1984. Joong-Ho and Sang-Taek visit their old pal Joon-Suk at home. He's a sickly drug addict at this time, abusive to his wife Jin-Sook and desperate to have his friends back in his life.

It's within this period that Joon-Suk is at his lowest ebb - hooked on drugs, witness to the deaths of both of his parents, and alarmed to discover that Don-su, following his release from prison, has decided to work for a rival mobster. Sang-Taek wisely keeps out of the way by joining the army, while Joong-Ho stays local but still manages to pretty much drop off the radar.

Our next snapshot into their evolving relationships is in 1990, when Sang-Taek and Joon-Suk meet by chance. It brings their old friendship back to the fore of their minds, and gives the viewer the chance to catch up with what everyone's been up to in the meantime and where they are at this point in their lives.

Joon-Suk and Don-su are both successful gangsters by this point, both determined not to let the rivalry between their organisations come between their lifelong friendships - but it's only a matter of time before things go awry …

FRIEND is heavily influenced by Scorsese, and in particular GOODFELLAS. The narration, the themes of honour and loyalty, the timescales (the story begins in 1976 and ends in 1993), the freeze-frame techniques - it's all here.

But having witnessed the lacklustre THE DEPARTED, perhaps Scorsese would be well-served to watch FRIEND and remind himself how to make a great gangster film.

From it's intimate beginnings with the young boys sharing their misconceptions of sex with each other (telling each other that "menstruation" is another word for "pussy") to the genuinely moving final act that proves friendships are for life, there are lots of keenly observed moments of human interest throughout FRIEND, lending it the feel of a close, small project. And yet, it is epic in its storytelling, elaborate camera set-ups and stunning exterior compositions.

The acting is superb throughout, with Jang and Yu standing out. In fairness, they have the most interesting roles and they clearly relish them. These are complex, well-written characters - not your average wisecracking hoodlums. Sure, they do despicable things at times, but there is honour and morality steeped throughout writer-director Kyung-Taek Kwak's semi-autobiographical screenplay.

The score is a nicely reserved one, making good use of gentle strings and piano to complement Kwak's frequently beautiful cinematography. To help put us in the period too, there's also good use of tracks by Robert Palmer, Blondie and The J Geils Band.

In part, FRIEND - despite being just under two hours long - does feel slightly abridged. In particular, the characters of Joong-Ho and Jin-Sook seem to be introduced then pretty much discarded. While Sang-Taek, considering it's his story we're watching, is little more than peripheral to the dynamics of the plot.

Still, it is his friendship with Joon-Suk that provides the heart to FRIEND, and delivers the most quotable line: "Friends have nothing to be sorry about".

Momentum's disc presents the film uncut in an anamorphic 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is sharp, clean one with good strong colours and bright presentation.

The Korean audio is available in solid 2.0 and 5.1 mixes, with optional English subtitles at the ready.

A static scene-selection menu allows access to the main feature.

Extras begin with an interesting 36-minute Making Of featurette. This walks us through some of the film's key scenes, with commentary from Kwak. Each scene is then followed by behind-the-scenes footage, showing Kwak on set and/or location with his cast and crew. It's illuminating stuff, in Korean with forced English subtitles.

A 2-minute trailer follows, which fails to do justice to the film. Again, this is presented in Korean audio with forced English subtitles.

Finally there are trailers for 9 other titles in Momentum's Third Window range.

A decent disc to support a great film. An unexpectedly warm, sincere film filled with stunning compositions and very human performances (not to mention some vicious stabbings). Recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis