"Friend" is a remarkable true story about friendship and the different places that fate takes them, from being the best of friends to enemies on the streets of the real world. "Friend" is a must see Korean event film that will raise the bar for every drama there afterwards.

Review: Nostalgia is the childhood of your memories. It's how we embrace our past and the way we choose to remember it. More often than not, though, the fonder recollections tend to dominate the lesser affectionate ones and in turn, we lose a little of our past, of ourselves. But there is a tender beauty when you can come to terms with it and accept who you were and what you've become and realize that your present is just an extension of the past. That holding onto everything you remember, grabbing as tight as you can and never letting go is one of the things that make us tragic as humans, realizing that life goes by faster than any single, memorable moment.

When I first heard that "Friend" was based on the true story of director, Kwak Kyung-taek's childhood and adult life, and the fact that it is as accurate as what the director remembers, I couldn't believe it. After my initial viewing of the film, a sense of nostalgia swept over me. Moreover, I thought about the people I grew up with and how their lives affected mine and vice versa. I thought about my friends today and wondered if we were still going to be great friends in five more years. When you're watching a true story brought to life through the medium of film, the lines that separate truth and fiction are blurred and shattered and the intangible window you're looking through disappears, bringing you closer.

What makes "Friend" so emotional and connecting is the acting of the four main leads. They represent each aspect of adolescence and brings to the table the insecurities of being young and the uncertainties growing older. Especially the acting of Yoo Oh-sung as Lee Jeong-suk, who played the son of a gangster, and Jang Dong-gun as Han Dong-su, the second in command of the group. They drove the film with their raw and poignant portrayal of friendship thrown into the crossroads of life. It's interesting seeing the dynamic changes of their childhood friendship in comparison to their adult relationships with each other.

In the alter ego of the director is Sang-taek played by Seo Tae-hwa. Even though the film has an obvious third person omniscient narrative, a lot of the film follows the eyes of Sang-taek. During the bond between Sang-taek and Jeong-suk in their older years, we see this darker side of the film with sorrowful eyes. As if you were watching your friend slowly dying and you couldn't do a thing about it. The film is unapologetic in its depictions and it never loses sight of the friendship of the four. Though separated by fate, they revisit each other in different times of their lives giving us the impression of the dedication to each other.

The cinematography is also one of the stunning feats in the production of "Friend." Through the raw city landscapes to the urban hoods, "Friend" has a distinct feel of a modern day period piece, detailed in its surroundings and lush in atmosphere. There are some editing aesthetics that follow up the camera work such as the use of slow motion and still shots of particular scenes to emphasize the innocence in their lives. In the lighter moments, the art direction is quite beautiful, romanticizing these kids, letting drops of color spill onto the sepia concentrated picture.