3-Iron

The pleasure that my girlfriend and I both received from watching this film is almost impossible to describe. Because having also adored movies like "April Snow" & "Waiting In The Dark," we both share a deep passion for tense, atmospheric, emotional and virtually silent Asian cinema.Of course, words like "Tense," "Atmospheric," "Emotive," "Passionate," "Heart-Rending," "Beautiful" & "Art" do not even begin to describe the glory of this film. And the only reason I can possibly imagine why a person might not like it would be if they were either too lazy or too ignorant to perceive what was happening in front of their eyes.Throughout the whole course of the movie, the Hero never speaks once and the Heroine only speaks twice towards the end. You might think that the silence would somehow render this film bleak and amateurish. After all, why would anyone ever 'Choose' to make a virtually silent movie these days?Simple... Because it "WORKS!!!"The lead actors are both so incredibly talented, the story is so beautiful and the direction is so flawless that too much dialogue would almost utterly ruin this film. The new couple literally hold entire conversations without ever speaking a word. And their love for one another is so palpable that language would only ever get in the way.Just as an informative side-note however, the original Korean title for this movie translates as "Empty House" which I honestly feel works much better.Without a home of his own, a young man who delivers junk mail for a living literally spends the night in other people's homes. He picks the lock of the 'Empty House' while the owners are away, repairing anything that's broken, doing the laundry and caring for the plants to thank his hosts for their unknowing hospitality. But having entered a house which he believes to be empty, a terrified woman who's been raped and beaten watches silently as he 'Makes Himself At Home.'This bizarre and moving coincidence is the start of an unbelievably beautiful love affair; the two lovers' both 'Rescuing' one another from their loneliness and their pain. So why on Earth haven't you bought this DVD yet? I can almost guarantee that you will love it!

I yield to no-one in my admiration of Kim Ki-Duk, and "The Bow"  The Bow [2005 ] is definitely one of the greatest movies in World Cinema, but this one, a comparatively conventional love story between two young people, completely escapes me. There is a tag at the end of the movie, to the effect that sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between illusion and reality in life. Here I wonder if Kim can tell the difference either. I think his kind of Magic Realism sits ill with a contemporary urban setting of mobile phones and CD players, it needs a timeless setting like in "The Bow" and "Spring, Summer...."  Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter And Spring [2004 ].I also have problems with the characters. All the minor characters are cardboard good or bad (the abusive husband, the police chief), and here the fact that the two central characters never speak presents me with a problem. I can accept it in other situations where the protagonists have known each other for years in an isolated environment; here it works for the first third of the film where he is allowing her space to recover from abuse, but later seems merely perverse and, eventually, irritating. We know nothing about these people except that she (Sun Hwa) has been abused and he (Tae-Suk)has been a student. Under the circumstances it is hard to care one way or the other.Towards the end of the movie, Tae-Suk is released from prison and revisits the people he has met earlier in the movie, sometimes playfully and once for revenge on the Police Chief. All of them sense his presence but none except the police chief see him (though we don't). Finally he "moves in" with Sun-Hwa and her abusive husband (she - and we - see him and he doesn't). The knowledge of his presence makes her act considerately towards the husband, and he in turn softens. The final shot shows the two lovers embracing standing on a set of scales which show no weight - a splendid image of love transcendent.But - has he been released from prison? Was he killed there? Is he really there, in Tae-Suk's memory or a ghost? Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions, but the realism of settings and filming elsewhere prompts you to want to know the answers. However you view it, it seems to me the ending is in some way a justification for staying in an abusive relationship, which raises questions of sexism which also nag at some of Kim's earlier films.With a director of Kim's stature, I'm prepared to believe this is all my fault, not his, and I'll give the film another try. Even if my first reaction is right, every great director is entitled to the occasional flop, and I'll eagerly await his next

I bought this dvd for a friend. The movie is a peace of Art. 🎨

"Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter......" is one of my top 5 films of all time so I was looking forward to this film by the same director and I was spurred on by good reviews on Amazon. However I was somewhat disappointed by a rather dull and pedestrian film. There was zero chemistry between the two main stars and the ending was rather muddled and implausible. Saying that it did have its good points and it was a clever touch to have the two main actors exchanging no dialogue whatsoever -though again rather implausible. I think for a fantasy to really succeed the implausible must seem to be plausible-but this film does not succeed at that level. It was a fairly good film but miles behind "Spring, Summer...." which is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Maybe I should watch "3 Iron" again....Some films require more than one viewing.

There's very little dialogue in this film and next to none between the two main characters. Those who are put off by subtitles should take encouragement from that because the few subtitles there are or an understanding of Korean are not required to make sense of the film, let alone enjoy it.The fact that such an original, thoughtful and amusing film has the strength to be told with so little dialogue is perhaps why it's so easy to adore. As the other reviews testify, there's barely a bad word for 3 Iron.If the film needs to be pigeon-holed, it goes in the box labelled Romantic Thriller... with comedy and fantasy moments.Definitely one of my most cherished films. And always will be.

Excellent film. One of Kim ki-duk's best imo. Great music in this film also. Uk dvd is pretty good pq and sound wise too.