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Cast:
Lee
Seung-Yoon
Jae
Hee
Kwon
Hyuk-Ho
Ju
Jin-Mo
Writer:
Kim
Ki-Duk
Producer:
Kim
Ki-Duk
Director:
Kim
Ki-Duk
Score:
 
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3
IRON
AKA:
Three Iron ||
3-Iron
Year:
2004 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
Written
and directed by Kim Ki-Duk who brought us 'Samaritan Girl' and
'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring', the viewer of
'3 Iron' is invited to see the world from a simpler, often
dream-like point of view, and forget the busy pressured daily
life chosen by most.
As
a young homeless drifter, Tae Suk spends his days breaking
into other people's homes when they are away, living in them,
before moving on to the next. Always treating their homes with
respect, he moves from place to place hand washing the
unwitting owner's laundry and doing odd jobs before he leaves.
This
simple life is forced to change when he chooses the apparently
empty home of an affluent businessman, only to be disturbed in
the night by the diminutive, physically abused wife he left
behind (touchingly portrayed by Lee Seung-yoon). Tae Suk flees
the house but later revisits to rescue her from the abusive
husband upon his return. What follows is a touching tale of
companionship and love in which these two new friends continue
Tae Suk's simple, yet unusual, way of life without ever
needing to speak a word.
In
recent years, Korean cinema has continued to push its way into
the consciousness of international movie audiences with its
strong mix of drama, horror and action. The feeling of
freshness experienced by watching contemporary Korean film is
reminiscent of the way Hong Kong cinema captured my
imagination many years ago.
Numerous
times whilst watching '3 Iron', I could not help but think how
this film would not be made in the West, at least not with the
intention of releasing it to a mainstream DVD and Cinema
audience. Yet, the restrictions placed upon American
filmmakers by the focus groups and expectations of powerful
studios do not apply so prominently in the East. As a result,
if you want something genuinely original and touching, one has
to look to Asia, and thankfully, more people than ever are
doing so.
In
conclusion, if you expect your Asian films to be a fast moving
action bonanza, then this is clearly not for you. However, if
you want to experience a beautiful, touching drama with a
dreamlike atmosphere, then '3 Iron' comes highly recommended.
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