Review: 3-Iron...
We are all empty houses
Waiting for someone
To open the lock and set us free
One day, my wish comes true.
A man arrives like a ghost
And takes me away from my confinement
And I follow without doubts, without reserve
Until I find my new destiny...
That is the main quote from the 3-Iron website!
Today was the long awaited 3-Iron, and it was weird, philosophical and beyond amazing. I saw it twice and dragged my friend Sam along to keep me company in the evening (well, maybe it wasn't dragging - he seemed pretty willing to go). His roommates left a heaping pile of dishes so I kept him company and helped him out the best that I could. Then he fixed me a left over pork chop that was so delicious. Then we dashed to the theater I work at five minutes before start time to enjoy the movie.
First of all, I love the main theme of the movie. Dada dada da dada dadaada... it's still playing in my head. It's by a Korean artist called Slvian... Does anyone know where I can find a copy of this song? It was such a catchy melody to put in the trailer, which I have seen for the last six weeks, and in the movie it is the reoccuring theme that adds to the drama and suspense of the movie. I cannot find it online though, I just really need that main song. I guess I'll just have to reload the trailer a million times for a while. It was too beautiful... I don't think it will ever leave my head.
It is AMAZING how director Kim Ki-duk has two main characters that say so little through words but so much through acting. The acting was amazing. I got this review somewhere I can't remember from the internet - A battered woman finds her soul mate in a most unusual manner. Tae-suk (Jae Hee Song) is a young drifter who appears to be homeless by inclination as much as necessity; he squats in the homes of strangers while they're away, carefully seeing to it that no damage is done to the property and sometimes performing small household chores as a display of gratitude. One day, Tae-suk sneaks into a house where a number of photos of a beautiful model adorn the walls. After eating, washing up, and doing some minor repairs, Tae-suk discovers he's being watched by the woman of the house, Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yeon), and he soon recognizes her as the model in the photos. However, Tae-suk sees that Sun-hwa has been badly bruised, and suspects she's been the victim of domestic violence. When Tae-suk returns to the home later that evening, his suspicions are confirmed as he sees Sun-hwa being slapped around by her husband, Min-kyo (Gweon Hyeok-ho). Tae-suk impulsively bursts into the house, grabs a golf club, and attacks Min-kyo with it; moments later, Tae-suk and Sun-hwa ride away together on his scooter, and she silently joins him in his existence as a squatter, which slowly blossoms into a love affair.
Tae-suk, I welcome you to break into my room and do my laundry any time. I have a heaping pile of it right now I have to do before I leave for break...
Incredible movie... but I can't review this one without talking about more specific details...
A philosophical point of the movie is how nothing is truely what it seems... People don't know the story behind Tae-suk's lifestyle. He isn't a criminal who steals; he breaks into people's homes, cleans, fixes things that are broken. One of the prison officials says, "We've reviewed his records and he doesn't seem like a bad guy..."
The one house had the most beautiful enclosed garden, wooden rails, and just beautiful Asian-style panneling. I'd want to be breaking into those sort of houses too...
The entire movie was beautiful, but the ending really striked me as unique. Tae-suk eventually gets thrown in jail for defending himself during an assault by a prison staffman. Sun-hwa is taken away from him and her husband is called in and she is given back to him. Sun-hwa secretly dreams of the day she will see Tae-suk again. Tae-suk tries to think of a way to escape prison and at the same time tries to "become invisible" so he can evasively travel around.
The prison guard screams something like, Damn Ghost! This is where the ending of the movie gets weird... All the inhabitants of the homes he visited throughout the course of the movie say they can feel a strange "ghost" lingering and watching. Eventually this sensation overcomes Sun-hwa's husband. This leads to the end of the movie that has the signature frame with Sun-hwa and her abusive husband embracing and Tae-suk kissing her behind her husband's back. Her husband leaves and it shows Sun-hwa leaning backwards until she traps Tae-suk against the wall... Very, very romantically beautiful. The last line in the movie is something like, "In this life it is hard to tell whether this is a reality or a dream..."
The escape? There is a call to Sun-hwa's husband saying Tae-suk escaped. What happened to Tae-suk? Did he realize his relationship with Sun-hwa could never physically formate, kill himself, and become a lingering apprirition existing in her dreams? Was he having an out of body experience with astral projection? Or was he so good with his reflexes he was able to act like a ghost and still be alive? I looked for his shadow both times I watch the movie in the ending scenes and he had no shadow... It's so wonderfully confusing and left to anyone's interpretation. I wish knew some more people who have seen this movie to see what they think...
The only way this movie could have been even more open to interpretation would have been if there would have been some way to make Tae-suk more ghost-like throughout the entire movie, and leave the viewer constantly wondering if Tae-suk imagined the perfect strange to lead an escape from her life. This is definitely not an option because other people in the movie acknowledge he is around until some time around the end when people aren't sure, but feel like someone is lingering in the shadows.
Please, go see this movie or rent it if you get a chance so we can talk about it. It is so philsophically beautiful, mysterious, and suspenseful... Wow, I can't stop thinking about it. But don't just take my word for it, my friend Sam enjoyed it too...
Waiting for someone
To open the lock and set us free
One day, my wish comes true.
A man arrives like a ghost
And takes me away from my confinement
And I follow without doubts, without reserve
Until I find my new destiny...
That is the main quote from the 3-Iron website!
Today was the long awaited 3-Iron, and it was weird, philosophical and beyond amazing. I saw it twice and dragged my friend Sam along to keep me company in the evening (well, maybe it wasn't dragging - he seemed pretty willing to go). His roommates left a heaping pile of dishes so I kept him company and helped him out the best that I could. Then he fixed me a left over pork chop that was so delicious. Then we dashed to the theater I work at five minutes before start time to enjoy the movie.
First of all, I love the main theme of the movie. Dada dada da dada dadaada... it's still playing in my head. It's by a Korean artist called Slvian... Does anyone know where I can find a copy of this song? It was such a catchy melody to put in the trailer, which I have seen for the last six weeks, and in the movie it is the reoccuring theme that adds to the drama and suspense of the movie. I cannot find it online though, I just really need that main song. I guess I'll just have to reload the trailer a million times for a while. It was too beautiful... I don't think it will ever leave my head.
It is AMAZING how director Kim Ki-duk has two main characters that say so little through words but so much through acting. The acting was amazing. I got this review somewhere I can't remember from the internet - A battered woman finds her soul mate in a most unusual manner. Tae-suk (Jae Hee Song) is a young drifter who appears to be homeless by inclination as much as necessity; he squats in the homes of strangers while they're away, carefully seeing to it that no damage is done to the property and sometimes performing small household chores as a display of gratitude. One day, Tae-suk sneaks into a house where a number of photos of a beautiful model adorn the walls. After eating, washing up, and doing some minor repairs, Tae-suk discovers he's being watched by the woman of the house, Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yeon), and he soon recognizes her as the model in the photos. However, Tae-suk sees that Sun-hwa has been badly bruised, and suspects she's been the victim of domestic violence. When Tae-suk returns to the home later that evening, his suspicions are confirmed as he sees Sun-hwa being slapped around by her husband, Min-kyo (Gweon Hyeok-ho). Tae-suk impulsively bursts into the house, grabs a golf club, and attacks Min-kyo with it; moments later, Tae-suk and Sun-hwa ride away together on his scooter, and she silently joins him in his existence as a squatter, which slowly blossoms into a love affair.
Tae-suk, I welcome you to break into my room and do my laundry any time. I have a heaping pile of it right now I have to do before I leave for break...
Incredible movie... but I can't review this one without talking about more specific details...
A philosophical point of the movie is how nothing is truely what it seems... People don't know the story behind Tae-suk's lifestyle. He isn't a criminal who steals; he breaks into people's homes, cleans, fixes things that are broken. One of the prison officials says, "We've reviewed his records and he doesn't seem like a bad guy..."
The one house had the most beautiful enclosed garden, wooden rails, and just beautiful Asian-style panneling. I'd want to be breaking into those sort of houses too...
The entire movie was beautiful, but the ending really striked me as unique. Tae-suk eventually gets thrown in jail for defending himself during an assault by a prison staffman. Sun-hwa is taken away from him and her husband is called in and she is given back to him. Sun-hwa secretly dreams of the day she will see Tae-suk again. Tae-suk tries to think of a way to escape prison and at the same time tries to "become invisible" so he can evasively travel around.
The prison guard screams something like, Damn Ghost! This is where the ending of the movie gets weird... All the inhabitants of the homes he visited throughout the course of the movie say they can feel a strange "ghost" lingering and watching. Eventually this sensation overcomes Sun-hwa's husband. This leads to the end of the movie that has the signature frame with Sun-hwa and her abusive husband embracing and Tae-suk kissing her behind her husband's back. Her husband leaves and it shows Sun-hwa leaning backwards until she traps Tae-suk against the wall... Very, very romantically beautiful. The last line in the movie is something like, "In this life it is hard to tell whether this is a reality or a dream..."
The escape? There is a call to Sun-hwa's husband saying Tae-suk escaped. What happened to Tae-suk? Did he realize his relationship with Sun-hwa could never physically formate, kill himself, and become a lingering apprirition existing in her dreams? Was he having an out of body experience with astral projection? Or was he so good with his reflexes he was able to act like a ghost and still be alive? I looked for his shadow both times I watch the movie in the ending scenes and he had no shadow... It's so wonderfully confusing and left to anyone's interpretation. I wish knew some more people who have seen this movie to see what they think...
The only way this movie could have been even more open to interpretation would have been if there would have been some way to make Tae-suk more ghost-like throughout the entire movie, and leave the viewer constantly wondering if Tae-suk imagined the perfect strange to lead an escape from her life. This is definitely not an option because other people in the movie acknowledge he is around until some time around the end when people aren't sure, but feel like someone is lingering in the shadows.
Please, go see this movie or rent it if you get a chance so we can talk about it. It is so philsophically beautiful, mysterious, and suspenseful... Wow, I can't stop thinking about it. But don't just take my word for it, my friend Sam enjoyed it too...