The Films of Kim Ki-duk
This is just a little something I typed up for my peps over in the moviebuffs community. I thought my peps over here might like to read it too just in case anyone was looking for some weird movies to watch.
Love them or hate them, if you've ever seen any of Korean film maker Kim Ki-duk's movies you can't deny he's a true master of visual story telling. A friend of mine introduced me to his movies, which at first drove me crazy because his main characters hardly talk to each other at all, but upon later reflection I realized they were probably some of the most unique films I'd ever seen and many of them have now become some of my favorites. Filled with strange characters that often get progressively stranger as the movies go on, Kim Ki-duk writing and direction often uses beautiful minimalist locations and slight mystical elements to take his characters, and his audiences, on an extremely personal journey throughout the course of his films. I've been slowly working my way through his body of works and thought I'd share reviews of some of his most well known movies so I could spread the love of a truly gifted film maker and screenwriter.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
Set in the wilderness of a mountain lake, on a floating Buddhist monastery, the story is about the life of a Buddhist monk as he passes through the seasons of his life from childhood to old age. Each season symbolizes a stage of the monk's life with approx. 10 years taking place between each season and different actors used to protray the monk during each chapter of his life.
The movie is never in a hurry to reach it's conclusion, making it seem much longer than its 103 min running time actually is, but it fills up the screen-time with long lingering looks at the natural landscape surrounding the temple and how it reflects the highs and lows of the monk's life. I really don't know enough about Zen Buddhism to truly appreciate this movie as it probably deserves, but even a eastern religion layman like myself could still recognize the superior cinematography and direction involved in this film that makes it almost a type of visual postcard. Perhaps a bit too slow and rambling for some, I for one could watch this movie again and again and find something new every time.
Samaritan Girl (2004)
Primarily the story of a young girl and her father, this rather dark look at innocence lost is one of my least favorite of Kim Ki-duk's films but it's still has a wonder about it that makes it extremely intriguing none the less.
When Yeo-jin's (Ji-min Kwak) friend Jae-yeong dies accidently while prostituting herself to earn them enough money to travel to Europe, Yeo-jin blames herself. To ease her own conscience and honor the memory of her friend, she sets out to return all of the money they earned to their clients while sleeping with them herself. Eventually Yeo-jin's father (Eol Lee), a policeman, is devastated when he discovers what she is doing. He starts following her discreetly and confronts her clients with increasingly violent results.
The film tends to speak volumes about the relationship between children and parents. In particular showing that, no matter how close they are, sometimes parents and childern can't bring themselves to confront each other about their darker natures. I found the motivations of the characters rather muddled and, although it's an intresting character study, the plot itself doesn't go much of anywhere just sort of trailing off leaving its audience behind wondering what happned.
Time (2006)
One of the few Kim Ki-duk films where the main characters actually talk to each other, well yell at each other anyway.
When she becomes obsessed with the idea that her boyfriend is getting tired of looking at her unchanging face everyday, Seh-hee (Ji-Yeon Park) decides to resort to desperate measures. Convinced that if she looked different, her boyfriend Ji-woo (Jung-woo Ha) would fall for her all over again, she disappears from his life and undergoes plastic surgery to completely change her face. When she returns after six months, Seh-hee schemes to seduce Ji-woo, posing as new woman. But as Ji-woo starts to learn the truth behind the new mysterious women in his life, he becomes increasingly distraught.
Although not the strongest of Ki-duk's films as far as plot goes, I found this one to be a impressive psychological look at the modern day practice of altering appearances and the mental unstableness it can cause with relation to ones own identity. Never have characters been less in need of plastic surgery and more in need of therapy as the ones in this movie. I also loved the fact that the main character in this one was actually working as a film editor editing one of Ki-duk's other films throughout the course of the movie. It's little inside jokes like that the I find the most amusing in Ki-duk flims.
3-Iron (2004)
My personal favorite of all of Ki-duk's movies 3-Iron is a beautiful story of finding companionship in the most unlikely of places. I warn you right now though the main characters do not talk to each other throughout the entire movie, not one word. But much of the beauty of the film is from learning what you can about a person without being told it directly.
When a mute vagabond (Jae Hee) wonders into the home of a abused housewife (Lee Seung-yeon) believing it abandoned, he inadvertently becomes entangled in her life as she runs away from home to join him in his transient life style as he lives in other people's houses while they're away.
I wish I could give a better description of the movie but it's one of those that really has to be experienced to be understood. This film is mystical and moving all at the same time, with the quite intensity of the relationship that grows between the two main characters as its focal point. It's funny, engaging and all together unexpected. One of my favorite movies of all time.
The Bow (2005)
One of the hardest Ki-duk films to watch, not because it's bad, but because the relationship between the two main characters is so disturbing and yet so believable.
Set entirely on a small boat at sea, this minimalist drama centers around a 16-year-old girl (Yeo-reum Han) brought up at sea by a 60-year-old man (Seong-hwang Jeon) intent on marrying her as soon as she turns 17. As the date of her 17th birthday grows closer the young girl, with the help of a handsome young angler who charters their boat, starts to realize there is more to the world than simply her possessive guardian and the boat. As her relationship with the old man changes, tension mounts as he becomes ever more demanding.
The connection between the girl and the old man is really the driving force behind this movie. Despite the old man's intentions twords the girl, you can tell he really does care about her and she is extremely fond of him also. You almost feel sorry for him then, despite the wrongness of the situation, when she starts to deny his increasingly persistent advances as he realizes he’s losing her. But that just makes the powerful, if somewhat odd, ending of the movie that much more potent.
Love them or hate them, if you've ever seen any of Korean film maker Kim Ki-duk's movies you can't deny he's a true master of visual story telling. A friend of mine introduced me to his movies, which at first drove me crazy because his main characters hardly talk to each other at all, but upon later reflection I realized they were probably some of the most unique films I'd ever seen and many of them have now become some of my favorites. Filled with strange characters that often get progressively stranger as the movies go on, Kim Ki-duk writing and direction often uses beautiful minimalist locations and slight mystical elements to take his characters, and his audiences, on an extremely personal journey throughout the course of his films. I've been slowly working my way through his body of works and thought I'd share reviews of some of his most well known movies so I could spread the love of a truly gifted film maker and screenwriter.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
Set in the wilderness of a mountain lake, on a floating Buddhist monastery, the story is about the life of a Buddhist monk as he passes through the seasons of his life from childhood to old age. Each season symbolizes a stage of the monk's life with approx. 10 years taking place between each season and different actors used to protray the monk during each chapter of his life.
The movie is never in a hurry to reach it's conclusion, making it seem much longer than its 103 min running time actually is, but it fills up the screen-time with long lingering looks at the natural landscape surrounding the temple and how it reflects the highs and lows of the monk's life. I really don't know enough about Zen Buddhism to truly appreciate this movie as it probably deserves, but even a eastern religion layman like myself could still recognize the superior cinematography and direction involved in this film that makes it almost a type of visual postcard. Perhaps a bit too slow and rambling for some, I for one could watch this movie again and again and find something new every time.
Samaritan Girl (2004)
Primarily the story of a young girl and her father, this rather dark look at innocence lost is one of my least favorite of Kim Ki-duk's films but it's still has a wonder about it that makes it extremely intriguing none the less.
When Yeo-jin's (Ji-min Kwak) friend Jae-yeong dies accidently while prostituting herself to earn them enough money to travel to Europe, Yeo-jin blames herself. To ease her own conscience and honor the memory of her friend, she sets out to return all of the money they earned to their clients while sleeping with them herself. Eventually Yeo-jin's father (Eol Lee), a policeman, is devastated when he discovers what she is doing. He starts following her discreetly and confronts her clients with increasingly violent results.
The film tends to speak volumes about the relationship between children and parents. In particular showing that, no matter how close they are, sometimes parents and childern can't bring themselves to confront each other about their darker natures. I found the motivations of the characters rather muddled and, although it's an intresting character study, the plot itself doesn't go much of anywhere just sort of trailing off leaving its audience behind wondering what happned.
Time (2006)
One of the few Kim Ki-duk films where the main characters actually talk to each other, well yell at each other anyway.
When she becomes obsessed with the idea that her boyfriend is getting tired of looking at her unchanging face everyday, Seh-hee (Ji-Yeon Park) decides to resort to desperate measures. Convinced that if she looked different, her boyfriend Ji-woo (Jung-woo Ha) would fall for her all over again, she disappears from his life and undergoes plastic surgery to completely change her face. When she returns after six months, Seh-hee schemes to seduce Ji-woo, posing as new woman. But as Ji-woo starts to learn the truth behind the new mysterious women in his life, he becomes increasingly distraught.
Although not the strongest of Ki-duk's films as far as plot goes, I found this one to be a impressive psychological look at the modern day practice of altering appearances and the mental unstableness it can cause with relation to ones own identity. Never have characters been less in need of plastic surgery and more in need of therapy as the ones in this movie. I also loved the fact that the main character in this one was actually working as a film editor editing one of Ki-duk's other films throughout the course of the movie. It's little inside jokes like that the I find the most amusing in Ki-duk flims.
3-Iron (2004)
My personal favorite of all of Ki-duk's movies 3-Iron is a beautiful story of finding companionship in the most unlikely of places. I warn you right now though the main characters do not talk to each other throughout the entire movie, not one word. But much of the beauty of the film is from learning what you can about a person without being told it directly.
When a mute vagabond (Jae Hee) wonders into the home of a abused housewife (Lee Seung-yeon) believing it abandoned, he inadvertently becomes entangled in her life as she runs away from home to join him in his transient life style as he lives in other people's houses while they're away.
I wish I could give a better description of the movie but it's one of those that really has to be experienced to be understood. This film is mystical and moving all at the same time, with the quite intensity of the relationship that grows between the two main characters as its focal point. It's funny, engaging and all together unexpected. One of my favorite movies of all time.
The Bow (2005)
One of the hardest Ki-duk films to watch, not because it's bad, but because the relationship between the two main characters is so disturbing and yet so believable.
Set entirely on a small boat at sea, this minimalist drama centers around a 16-year-old girl (Yeo-reum Han) brought up at sea by a 60-year-old man (Seong-hwang Jeon) intent on marrying her as soon as she turns 17. As the date of her 17th birthday grows closer the young girl, with the help of a handsome young angler who charters their boat, starts to realize there is more to the world than simply her possessive guardian and the boat. As her relationship with the old man changes, tension mounts as he becomes ever more demanding.
The connection between the girl and the old man is really the driving force behind this movie. Despite the old man's intentions twords the girl, you can tell he really does care about her and she is extremely fond of him also. You almost feel sorry for him then, despite the wrongness of the situation, when she starts to deny his increasingly persistent advances as he realizes he’s losing her. But that just makes the powerful, if somewhat odd, ending of the movie that much more potent.