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To me it's been obvious for quite some time now that South Korea is by far the most interesting country in Asia when it comes to film. And Asia on the other hand feels like the most interesting continent, so where does that leave us?

"Bin-Jip" (or "3-iron") is a wonderful movie. I went to see it without really knowing what to expect. I must admit that even though South Korean films appeal to me my expectations were quite low, not least because the movie was described in a way that was vague to say the least. But after watching it... it all made sense. Because how do you describe a movie like this one? It moves somewhere in the shadow-land between reality and fantasy. One of those movies that has very little plot to it but still comes across as beautifully written. And above all things it made me feel good!

The closest reference i can find to how this movie made me feel is "Lost in Translation". Don't get me wrong, the movies are not very alike. But the feeling they gave me is the same. When i watched these movies for the first time i felt like i didn't really know what i was i just saw. I only knew that i liked it and it made me feel good. A warm sensation in my gut telling me that maybe there is hope after all. Hope for what? I don't know, life maybe?

In the end the 3-iron, the golf-balls and the surface are not important. What's important is life, love and warmth. This is a beautiful movie, both on the surface and beneath it. It is also a truly unique movie experience and i don't get to say that very often. Highly recommended and definitely one of the best i've seen so far this year.

9/10

The lonely and silent rider Tae-suk (Hee Jae) breaks in empty houses and lives a normal life while the owners are traveling. He does not steal anything and moves from house to house without any loss other than food, and he cleans the houses, provides small repairs or washes some clothes to retribute the hospitality.

When he enters in the house of Sun-hwa (Seung-yeon Lee), he does not see the woman that is wounded in her room after being beaten up on by her abusive husband Min-gyu Lee (Hyuk-ho Kwon). Tae-suk helps the hurt woman and when Min-gyu returns, he hits the husband with golf balls and Sun-hwa leaves her husband with Tae-suk in his motorcycle.

When they break in the house of an old man, they find that the man is dead and Tae-suk provides funeral service for him. However, his son returns and Tae-suk and Sun-hwa are arrested by two abusive police detectives. He is sent to prison and Sun-hwa is forced to return home. But she never forgets him.

"Bin-jip" is a subtle film about a lonely drifter and an abused wife that finds love, empathy and human warmth with him. The story is open to interpretation and here is mine (it is a spoiler – therefore if you have not watched the film yet, do not read):

Tae-suk is murdered by the prison guards when he leaves his cell, and Min-gyu Lee receives a phone call from the police telling that the youngster had been released as a sort of justification for his disappearance. Sun-hwa lives with the "ghost" of the free-spirited Tae-suk as a way to help her to survive to his marriage life.

Maybe I am too simplistic, but that is the way that I have understood this pleasant film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Casa Vazia" ("Empty House")

Watched it two times the past week. In a nutshell - I dare anyone to find a film that is more sober and so light and that at the same time fills you with a deep warmth an and all encompassing feeling of great tenderness. Really.

Its story is of such unbelievable simplicity that at the first sight of such a script you'd wonder how on earth it would be possible to make it into a film - or tell anything with it that goes beyond the script. Add to this the fact that any dialogue almost entirely fails to manifest itself...

But then you forget about Kim Ki-duk! If anyone was born with the eye of the cinematographic magician, it must be him. Despite the fact that I did not like The Isle at all, the photography was utterly unbelievable. Same for Spring, Summer... But then I still thought "well, anyone with reasonable skill can get a good image out of such landscapes/spaces". But none of that here - mainly indoors or in the city - just a guy spending his nights at other unknown people's places while they're away, and in turn repairs stuff and cleans/does the laundry. And STILL the images are nothing less than breathtaking. The light is superb, the framing, everything... Also the storytelling... pacing is perfect - he tells the story with images more than with events. The film actually becomes light as feather, and then lighter. Sublimation. And besides that, he manages to squeeze in some real drama and the occasional laugh. Go figure.

I'm gonna quit here, there's really nothing much more I can add. Do yourself a favour and see this inconspicuous little film that is so profoundly simple and beautiful that you'll be wanting to send me a thank you note afterwards for telling you this.

Ki-duk Kim has written and directed an outstanding film about a homeless, but creative individual who breaks into houses for a place to eat, sleep, and clean himself up. While there, he fixes anything that is broken, does the laundry, and makes sure he cleans up after himself.

He breaks into a house that he thinks is empty and finds an abused woman. What transpires is one of the most tender and beautiful films I have ever seen. I would not spoil it by revealing any of the plot as this is one you definitely have to see.

If Ki-duk Kim can write a love story this incredible, I certainly want to see his action films.

Kim Ki-Duk's films portray a black world view, one by which our selfish impulses cause us to destroy each other and, ultimately, ourselves. They are driven by the central character's desire to escape this world, in their own ways eventually finding a way out of the reality that engulfs them. In Real Fiction (2000), the protagonist disappears into a day dream in which he has revenge on all those who wronged him in the past; in Spring Summer Autumn Winter... And Spring (2003), a Buddhist monk lives, literally, on an island separated from the rest of the world; any contact with the outside world results in tragedy, be it a visiting mother fleeing with her child (she drowns, though the child, gratefully, survives), or the monk's apprentice running off with a girl (he ends up murdering her and is wanted by the police); in Bad Guy, the eponymous protagonist tries to find solace through his own love fantasy; and then there is 3 Iron, Kim Ki-Duk's magnum opus and one of the most remarkable films ever made.

3 Iron seems to tie all the visual and thematic aspects of Kim's films together, neatly and impressively, making it the "ultimate" Kim Ki-Duk film, much the same way Fitzcarraldo is the "ultimate" Herzog- or North By Northwest was the "ultimate" Hitchcock film. Like every Kim Ki-Duk film, the protagonist is a rank outsider from mainstream society. Like Bad Guy, the character plays his part almost entirely mute (and on this note, both Jo Jae-hyeon's and Lee Hyun-kyoon's performances have to be utterly applauded for being both wonderfully subtle and yet so forcefully expressive). Once again, we are faced with a latent dual reality, where the protagonist escapes the world around him, but is also brutally dragged back into it. Like Bad Guy, 3 Iron is a strange love story, albeit a far more assuasive one, where both the characters decide to disappear into "their own world".

However, 3 Iron defies explanation. Can you imagine trying to pitch this to a Hollywood producer? "Ok, there's this guy and he, like, breaks into people's houses. He washes their clothes, dishes, bathrooms -.. he even wears their clothes, sleeps in their beds, and repairs stuff for them, like clocks or broken toy guns (with hilarious consequences in the latter's case!). One day he breaks into a house, thinking he's alone, but meets an abused wife. When her husband returns, he proceeds to attack the old philanderer in a very original way (which neatly ties in with the title of the film... you'll see) and she runs off with him. They then enter "his" world and live "his" life together, breaking into houses, etc, before they get dragged back into the real world with all the pain and suffering it brings". Yeah! That'll really get the 18-25 demographic rolling down the aisles! Chances are I would have been kicked out midway through the second sentence, though if I'm really honest I wouldn't actually mind trying to pitch this to Don Simpson, just to see the reaction on his face.

But it really would be doing this movie little justice to try and "summarise" it in some neat little way. It needs to be watched, it needs to be experienced, like all the great movies. There is no real "idea" in this film, necessarily, nor is there a big "statement" of sorts - Kim Ki-Duk is not a "statement" film-maker like Godard or Eisenstein. Rather, like Lynch, he prefers to make films that work on an instinctive level, in that they draw a gut emotional reaction from you that cannot necessarily be articulated or expressed in an intellectual manner. Is it any coincidence, then, that Kim, like Lynch, primarily hails from a painting background, and actually wanted to be a painter before he became a film-maker?

Paintings are an apt analogy, since every frame is clearly carefully and thoughtfully choreographed (characters are either separated (in both the physical and emotional sense) by vertical-, or they are united by horizontal lines). But putting aside any visual- and textual comparisons to Lynch, Kim Ki-Duk also draws a lot from Wong Kar Wai in terms of narrative, and anyone who has seen Chungking Express should notice comparisons to 3 Iron in that both concentrate on a character who breaks into someone else's house/flat and lives their life without them noticing, or how one song is ceaselessly repeated to emphasise both the love between the two central characters and, furthermore, the characters' wish to escape reality (though 3 Iron does so more on a less literal level, as I mentioned before) - in Chungking Express, it was California Dreamin' (a song that will never be the same for me after that film, and I suspect a lot of people feel this way), while in 3 Iron it's "Gafsa" by Natasha Atlas.

Still, I suppose I can conceptualise and intellectualise to my heart's content - somehow I doubt that any of this will spur you to watch this movie. But I think it should. This film deserves to be seen. It's a tender, thought-provoking, and ultimately (and quite strangely) heart-warming film, as well as, quite possibly. an indication that Kim Ki-Duk is slowly coming of an age as a film-maker, moving on from an entirely pessimistic worldview to one that is more reassuring and serene. Yes, there is suffering and darkness, but there is also hope, and I think, this, ultimately is what 3 Iron is trying to tell us. It is, in short, utterly required viewing, not to mention the work of a true genius. And it's really not very often I bandy this word about.

It's hard to mark this movie because it's hard to put it into a category. It is romance, social satire and drama in the same time. This guy breaks into houses and lives inside them like they were his own, while the owners are gone, without actually stealing anything. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I think this is the main pillar of the movie, the idea that one can succeed on living in the world, but out of sight. This is a movie for the true pariah, the one that wants to be left alone, in silence, in his own world.

It is said that the best warrior wins the battles without fighting. If that's true, then Kim Ki-Duk is amongst the best dialog writers ever :) The characters say nothing, but tell a lot.

I think it is a movie worth watching, it's quiet and has some original ideas that can catch your imagination if in the right mood.

Having witnessed Kim ki Duk's masterpiece in the past "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring", I was eagerly interested in this well received next venture.

3 Iron, is very similar in style to Spring Summer, there is very little dialogue, and the story tells itself. However, I had to admit that after about 65% of viewing this film, admiring the characters, I was still kind of wondering if this film was going to go somewhere. It had to make some direction. Only the last 3rd brought me back and really showed me how ingenious this film is.

The lead actor Hee Jae really performs one of the most memorable performances, with hardly saying a word, his arching brows or glare in his face conveys every emotion masterfully compared to other actors who would have to say a million lines. I won't go over plot details that have already been discussed, what is interesting is that all the houses the two break into are all of couples in some stage in a relationship, one breaking down, one that is well established and peaceful, one that is young and virile, but perhaps inexperienced.

It all seems to be a metaphor for how two beings meet to co-exist and compliment each other, particularly the final scene that ends with the two anti-heroes meeting up and finding their lives in perhaps perfect balance.

Be patient with this film, STICK with it, it's well worth it. Extremely dreamy and poetic and masterful.

Rating 8 out of 10

Honestly, I don't think this is nearly as good as some of Kim Ki-Duk's other films. I haven't seen them all, but certainly this didn't impress me as much as "The Isle" or "Samaritan Girl" did. Not that it's a bad film at all, but I think it reveals Kim Ki-Duk as a limited filmmaker at least. The dreamlike, unreal aspects have always been apparent in his films, but here they stretch the limits of credibility to the point of emotional disengagement. Sometimes the film threatens to become so diffuse and otherworldly that it simply floats off into the ether. Also, it becomes more noticeable than ever what an unremarkable visual stylist Kim Ki-Duk is. Surely he is still one of the most interesting filmmakers working today, but compared to his contemporaries like Wong Kar-Wai and Tsai Ming-Liang he is sometimes sloppy and in general less accomplished or imaginative. To call the film slow or minimalistic would be missing the point (although, to the film's credit, I didn't notice that there were only two lines of dialogue in the whole film), but I did find at times that the plot seemed like a limp melodrama spiced up with a huge portion of obtuse, self-consciously artful technique. Not that the film isn't truly artful, but it doesn't help things to realize that the central motif of the film (the lead character breaking into unoccupied houses) so closely resembles Tsai Ming Liang's "Vive L'Amour". At least the film isn't, for once, hampered by sub-par music, as has been the case with some of Kim Ki-Duk's work in the past. All and all it is a good film, although not the one of Kim Ki-Duk's that I find the most inspiring. I will certainly continue to watch more of his films though, as I think he is one of contemporary cinema's most elusive, subtlest masters.

The Korean film "3-Iron" has an extraordinary story - not the content 'Per Se' but its treatment, approach and delivery by producer-writer-director-editor Kim Ki-Duk. There are many quiet, speechless moments and scenes, yet they spoke volumes - almost the feel of Zen, meaningfully so. It's beyond what the society or people 'traditionally' may see or assume. Yes, there may be 'turn off's' and disapproving situations - can we, do we, have the heart to forgive? Are we so 'sacred' and impeccable without ever making mistakes in our lives? Yes, we may not be so bold and brash as to 'crash' into another man's house - yet the thought of the young man's 'reality' of being so simple 'matter of fact' walking into someone else's home is not so improbable? He actually appears to be a thoughtful person. He handles with care the content of the house. He picks up the clothes lying around the place, gathers them, hand-washes them, hangs them up, cleans up the place, literally enjoys the home environment (the bath, the kitchen, the food, the bed, etc.) The observant dilemma being he obviously appreciates the house/home more than the owners/occupants.

There is 'suspense' - we'd worry what will happen to him, to him and her, and as the worse fear may arise (just like any cops and robbers film), can true justice prevail after all? Just when you think you figured out what's going on, w-d Kim gives us something more to think about. Elements that we don't expect - we're in awe at the concept and perspective presented to us, the viewer. It's quite extraordinary, really. And be afraid not, it will be rewarding, satisfying somehow, and you just might savor that last moment of magic between the two lead characters, her and him. The strength of the two leads portraying to perfection at sublimated tempo by Lee Seung-Yeon (as Sun-Hwa the woman) and Jae Hee (as Tae-Suk the man) is truly a godsend (both in their debut performances).

Once again, bravo to Sony Pictures Classics for the choice distribution of this film. Check out the Official Site for Director's Statement and a detail synopsis (best to do this after seeing the film.) "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…and Spring" (2003) is another film by w-d Kim, exquisite in cinematic visual and integral in storyline experience. (For non-golfers, the title "3-Iron" refers to golf club.)

"3-Iron" is a very odd, idiosyncratic work from South Korean filmmaker Ki-duk Kim. In the highly unusual premise, Tae-suk is a young, golf-obsessed homeless man who breaks into the houses and apartments of people who are away on either business trips or vacations - not to steal from them but simply to have a comfortable place to stay temporarily. In one of those homes, he meets a beautiful young woman whose husband physically and mentally abuses her and with whom Tae-suk strikes up a strange but meaningful relationship. Together, they roam from empty residence to empty residence, experiencing many strange events and encounters as they go.

In the film's most bizarre conceit, Tae-suk and Sun-hwa never say a single word either to each other or to anyone else throughout the course of the movie. This puts an added strain not only on the actors who must convey all their characters' thoughts and emotions through gestures and facial expressions, but on the audience as well. Indeed, many people may shut this movie off out of simple frustration and confusion. Others, however, searching for the different and the offbeat, may find the movie strangely compelling and even quite touching. Kim creates a world that becomes increasingly more illusory as the story unfolds, to the point that, by the final scenes, we no longer have any idea what is "real" and what is not. "3-Iron" is a slow-moving, patience-demanding work that draws us into its enigmatic world and that truly pays off in the end.

Sex plays a prominent part in the films of Kim Ki Duk, for example in "Bad guy" (2001) or "Samaria" (2004). Even in his more philosophical works such as "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring" (2003) sexual feelings are present in the background.

In the beginning "Bin Jip" seems no exception, a book with erotic art photography playing a recurrent role. It encourages a young man to masturbate, he looks images while in bath and irons those images afterwards. Only later the film becomes more purely philosophical.

The film is about a a young man staying in empty houses ("bin jip" means empty house). To determine which house in a neigborhood is empty he sticks leaflets on the frontdoors in the morning and watches which leaflets are still there in the evening. He does not steal anything, and in exchange for the self invited hospitality he does little repair jobs in return. In one house he meets an abused housewife who accompanies him since then.

In the beginning I tought the symbolism of the visits of the young man was "voyeurims". Only later it dawned on me that the symbolism was invisibility, just as the absence of dialogue for this character and the abused housewife stands for inaudibility.

The film gets more and more dependent on symbolism and associations. Some of which I did understand (when the young man stands on a scale for the first time he weights to heavy, when he stands on it together with his new found love the scale indicates a weight of zero), and some of which I don't. What for example is the meaning of golf in this picture? Apparently it is important, because an alternative title for the film is "3-iron", which indicates a (scarcely used) golfclub.

In the second half the film turns almost religious, the main character trying to dispose of his material body. By then I really lost the thread.

Originality is a rare commodity at any time, but it is in abundance in Kim ki-Duk's 3-IRON. The title refers to a golf club that is used to drive a ball long distances. In this case, the balls are, ultimately, driven into people with painful results.

A drifter who lives in temporarily vacated houses and apartments repays the owners by repairing appliances and watering plants. He meets a sad, abused woman and a non-verbal connection grows.

The magic is in the detail and the extraordinary cinematic clarity of Kim's style. There is the explosive violence that characterized his early films, but this entry is primarily an engaging character study with an existential bent.

What's truly original is the director's adherence to the way he presents his material. The style is consistent throughout and dialogue is mostly superfluous.

This has more in common with SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...THEN SPRING AGAIN than THE ISLE, ADDRESS UNKNOWN or BAD GUY. Though I enjoyed the material, any subtler and Kim might begin to lose the edge that distinguishes him.

Tonally, the film reminded me of aspects of OLD BOY.

Kim ki-Duk is one of the most provocative directors of the world. I remember "The Isle", his sexual and beautiful movie, a tale that a lot of people didn't understand, and since then, I'm a big fan of this Korean man.

This new movie, "3-Iron", shows the best of ki-Duk's soul and senses. The loneliness where the characters live is a sea of dreams, like empty houses of golf balls without have been used. This movie should be considered like one of the year's best. I hope that the people in USA will see it because it's totally beautiful. Like in all the ki-Duk movies, the violence is an essential element, that can't appear hidden, because in this time, the violence is the gun of the characters.

I'm looking forward to his next movie, "The Bow", but before, I've got to see "Samaritan girl", that has been released in my country this weekend.

I must say that in general I am quite skeptical about Asian movies: I usually find them horrendously boring in the best case, and obnoxiously weird in the worst. In particular the last one, 2046, kept me agonizing in the theater while unconnected images -even though wheel shot and poetical- ran through the screen, so I was pretty scared when I entered the theater this time. Especially after a friend of mine told me it was a dramatic/romantic movie with almost no dialogs. Instead, i was surprised by how charming, touching and pleasant is this movie. The plot is about a guy who enters in empty houses and puts them in order, repairs things, does the washing (manually) and stuff like this. The photography is absolutely awesome and added to the skill of the actors supplies to the almost complete absence of dialogs. We assist to this platonic form of platonic love between the protagonists, while they live their absurd lives as they were the most normal people in the world. The end is a bit mystical and gives a lot of meaning to a movie that could seem nonsense. 9/10

Kim Ki-duk is a master of cinema. I await his every movie with high anticipation. Sometime he falls a bit (just a little) behind that anticipation like with 'Samaria' which was good thematically and imaginary, but lacked a good resolve. 'Bin Jib' is compared nothing thematically (has no important issue or topic). It is more floaty and dreamy than anything else. Actually Kim Ki-duk reinvents himself here and makes a movie where the underlying factors for the characters has no meaning. The result is a comedy that despite that the dialog is sparse and the script is thin somehow dances like a feather on a breeze. And this haunting Middle-Eastern music still haunts me half a year after.

The reason I was a little bit (again a tiny bit) disappointed was that I expected Kim to tell me something. Well, next time then.

If you're out looking for a movie that has lots of explosions, than you're wrong here. This movie could even be classified as a silent movie. Not that there is no talking at all here, but there's not really much talking either. And there is no need for it anyways.

This drama that unfolds right before your eyes is so gripping and strong, that it's painful. But that is the intention of director Kim Ki Duk. His movies are never easy ... and this is no exception. So if you like a movie with a story, but with a moving pace that could even tire a snail, than watch this. Everyone else beware! The camera work and the acting is superb, but wouldn't help if you can't cope with the slow rhythm of the movie! :o)

This arty film has some interesting things that keep the viewer quite involved. The guy breaks into empty houses. That is quite tense. He rescues a battered woman from her abusive husband and then they move around other homes. Creative story. Kept me glued to find out what would happen.