Seen before: Yes
I bought this after watching the same director's 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring' which I loved. I am also fascinated with Korean cinema in general. Just to let you know.
---Plot Summary---
A young, homeless man places leaflets on doors of homes around the city. He returns later, and enters the houses that still have the leaflets on the door. He then spends the night, washing the clothes of the owners and taking photos of himself. One house he believes to be empty turns out to contain a young woman, victim of an abusive husband, and they both seem to relate to each other.
---Review---
Firstly, let me just say that '3-Iron' is a very peculiar film. The premise is somewhat unbelievable, there is virtually no dialogue, and towards the end it goes a bit... well, crazy. But despite all this, it does retain your interest throughout, and there's a certain charm about the main character, Tae-Suk (played by Lee Hyun-Kyoon) and his almost ghostly existence.
At first, it appears that Tae-Suk is a typical leaflet distributor, as he rides around an unknown South Korean city, placing leaflets on the door handles of people's homes. However, it quickly becomes clear that he is definitely not a typical person, as he later returns to one such home, and discovers that a leaflet remains on the door handle. So he breaks in. Not with force, with a lock pick. He then proceeds to help himself to the facilities within, showering, eating, and watching TV. But he also fixes a broken BB gun that he finds in a child's bedroom. And he washes all the dirty clothes of the absent residents. After staying the night, he awakens in the morning to find the family are returning and so leaves, as unassuming as his arrival. It's a strange routine that we learn he has done before and intends to do again.
The next house he breaks into contains a young woman (Lee Seung-Yeon) who he is unaware of, yet she is aware of him, and instead of ringing the police or confronting him, she remains hidden and watches him from afar. When she reveals herself, without saying a word, they appear to have met a kindred spirit that they have been searching for their whole lives. What follows from this usual circumstance creates a film that is on face value full of simplicity, yet has a deep underlying complexity. I was questioning myself throughout, trying to work out various things. At one point they enter a house where they discover a dead man, who they clean, dress and bury, but then remain in his house overnight, and are found out by the dead man's son the next day, leading to their inevitable arrest, which seems highly implausible (why would they stay at the dead man's home?).
In a film that appears to say very little (no pun intended), you can't shake the feeling that this is a pure, beautiful piece of work. It is immaculately shot, and from the gorgeous interiors of South Korean homes (the house with the fish 'pond' looks amazing) to the busy, yet still somehow peaceful, city streets, everything retains an essence of beauty. The eventual blossoming of love between the two central characters only adds to the magic of it all. I do feel however that it is a highly interpretive film, which has the ability to both infuriate and confuse, and at times I found it was trying too hard to be 'quirky'. Also, whilst not terrible, both actors could have performed more convincingly, in my opinion.
---Rating---
7/10
Tomorrow: 71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance (Michael Haneke, 1994)
I bought this after watching the same director's 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring' which I loved. I am also fascinated with Korean cinema in general. Just to let you know.
---Plot Summary---
A young, homeless man places leaflets on doors of homes around the city. He returns later, and enters the houses that still have the leaflets on the door. He then spends the night, washing the clothes of the owners and taking photos of himself. One house he believes to be empty turns out to contain a young woman, victim of an abusive husband, and they both seem to relate to each other.
---Review---
Firstly, let me just say that '3-Iron' is a very peculiar film. The premise is somewhat unbelievable, there is virtually no dialogue, and towards the end it goes a bit... well, crazy. But despite all this, it does retain your interest throughout, and there's a certain charm about the main character, Tae-Suk (played by Lee Hyun-Kyoon) and his almost ghostly existence.
At first, it appears that Tae-Suk is a typical leaflet distributor, as he rides around an unknown South Korean city, placing leaflets on the door handles of people's homes. However, it quickly becomes clear that he is definitely not a typical person, as he later returns to one such home, and discovers that a leaflet remains on the door handle. So he breaks in. Not with force, with a lock pick. He then proceeds to help himself to the facilities within, showering, eating, and watching TV. But he also fixes a broken BB gun that he finds in a child's bedroom. And he washes all the dirty clothes of the absent residents. After staying the night, he awakens in the morning to find the family are returning and so leaves, as unassuming as his arrival. It's a strange routine that we learn he has done before and intends to do again.
The next house he breaks into contains a young woman (Lee Seung-Yeon) who he is unaware of, yet she is aware of him, and instead of ringing the police or confronting him, she remains hidden and watches him from afar. When she reveals herself, without saying a word, they appear to have met a kindred spirit that they have been searching for their whole lives. What follows from this usual circumstance creates a film that is on face value full of simplicity, yet has a deep underlying complexity. I was questioning myself throughout, trying to work out various things. At one point they enter a house where they discover a dead man, who they clean, dress and bury, but then remain in his house overnight, and are found out by the dead man's son the next day, leading to their inevitable arrest, which seems highly implausible (why would they stay at the dead man's home?).
In a film that appears to say very little (no pun intended), you can't shake the feeling that this is a pure, beautiful piece of work. It is immaculately shot, and from the gorgeous interiors of South Korean homes (the house with the fish 'pond' looks amazing) to the busy, yet still somehow peaceful, city streets, everything retains an essence of beauty. The eventual blossoming of love between the two central characters only adds to the magic of it all. I do feel however that it is a highly interpretive film, which has the ability to both infuriate and confuse, and at times I found it was trying too hard to be 'quirky'. Also, whilst not terrible, both actors could have performed more convincingly, in my opinion.
---Rating---
7/10
Tomorrow: 71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance (Michael Haneke, 1994)
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