Bin-jip (3 Iron) (2004) May 1, 2009
Posted by Cal in : Romance, 2000s films , trackbackDirector: Kim Ki-duk Main cast: Jae Hee; Lee Hyun-kyoon; Kwon Hyuk-ho Territory: South Korea
A young man breaks into houses while their owners are away and uses their amenities, though he also takes the time to fix appliances or do their laundry while he’s there. One day, while in a supposedly empty house, he finds that he has been secretly watched by one of the house’s occupants, the battered wife of a thuggish businessman. Without exchanging a word, they escape together and continue the transient life the young man has made for himself.
It’s probably been noticed by regular readers that Korean films are grossly under-represented at Heroes of the East, and one of the reasons for this has been bad timing with my viewing habits. However, hopefully this trend will be somewhat reversed in coming months. And if you’re going to kick off a Korean film binge, I think you could probably do a lot worse than Bin-jip.
Writing a review for this film is next to impossible. It is an allegory for the Buddhist path to enlightenment, although the film never explicitly states this. Unless you know this fact (luckily, I was briefed before watching the movie so I had some inside knowledge, for which I am deeply grateful), Bin-jip could be a bit of a head scratcher. It is divided into three segments, mirroring the three stages on the path to enlightenment, and has almost no dialogue. In fact, the film’s male protagonist is totally silent, while the female utters one short sentence in the whole film.
Instead of being “difficult”, Bin-jip (which means “empty house” – a much better and more appropriate English title than the one it was given, in my opinion) is surprisingly accessible given the subject matter. Some of the finer points have gone over my head though. The male character carries a golf club around with him (hence the English title of the film) and drills a hole in a golf ball so that he can thread a wire through the middle and wrap the wire around a tree, so he can do golfing practice at any time. However, I’m not sure what is meant when the female character starts to stand in front of his shot, preventing him from playing. I know I’m missing something fundamentally essential here (especially seeing what happens later) but I can’t put my finger on it.
The film really comes into its own during the final third, where the young man and his lover achieve Nirvana, while continuing their mundane existence on Earth. The film’s “punchline” is undeniably cute (in every sense of the word) and will leave a smile on the face of anyone who’s paid the slightest bit of attention during the film’s 80-odd minute running time.
The philosophical journey is the foundation of the film, but that falls some way outside the scope of a usual review on here (Oily Maniac is normally more my speed), but with even a little Internet research, anyone born without a Buddhist upbringing can get something from this unique and stirring movie. Another big thumbs-up from me.
One final note: I don’t normally mention home format versions of films if I can help it, but I’ll make an exception for this one. The UK disc has a fantastic anamorphic transfer (which shows the film’s exquisite camerawork to great effect) but precisely bugger all in the way of extras. I mention this because I learned during the writing of this review that the US disc has a director’s commentary – something that this film is screaming out for. Although it will cost a lot more than the UK disc, I think it might be an idea looking further afield for this one.
Comments»
I’ve been meaning to check this film out for ages, thanks for the reminder.
On the topic of Korean films, you should do a review for Memories of Murder if you haven’t already.
Thanks Chris. Apart from the really obvious Korean films, I’m a bit of a novice, so I am taking suggestions on future viewings. Apart from a couple of exceptions, I really like what I’ve seen so far.
I’ve had a quick look at a write-up of Memories of Murder and it does look intriguing. Thanks for the tip-off. That’s the thing when you’re new to a particular area of cinema, everything looks fresh and exciting!