The Journey to Gyeong-ju

Pilgrimage of Vengeance

In this movie, a family of four women goes on a pilgrimage to Gyeongju with a secret plan to find justice for a past crime. While watching the movie, I couldn't place it in a genre. Is it a comedy, a drama, a thriller, or an action movie? It didn't deliver in any of them, so I still don't know. Although the characters had interesting personalities, I didn't like how clumsy they were at everything, or how every situation turned into an argument among themselves. Maybe some viewers will enjoy the chaos. I was also bothered by inconsistencies in the plot. For example, a car won't start for one character, but it starts without any trouble for another. There were many details like that.

What I did appreciate was the scenery of Gyeongju and the solid production. The theme also raises a lot of difficult questions and gives you plenty to discuss, whether you agree with the resolution or disagree.

So, ugh — I wanted to like this movie, especially because of Kong Hyo-jin, who plays a supporting character here, but it felt uneven in the story and morally conflicting from start to finish. It didn't help that I had read the Dead Man Walking comic the same day, just before watching it so I had issues with the messaging here.

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