3-Iron

In 2002 the KV IFF dedicated a retrospective to leading Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk and screened two of his films last year as well. The director’s contribution this year (given the Special Director’s Award and more at the 2004 Venice IFF) is reminiscent of his last feature Samaritan Girl. This time around the heroes of this sophisticated narrative are two young people whose chance meeting develops into an unusual love affair. A young man named Tae-suk, whose only possession is a powerful motorcycle, spends his time riding around the city looking for empty apartments. After finding one, he hangs out for a while, fixing himself something to eat and washing laundry or making small repairs in return. He always tries to leave before the owners get back but he isn’t always successful. In one ostensibly empty mansion he meets the abused wife of a rich man. She joins him.... Kim Ki-duk shot the movie in a very short time and has, in his own unusual way, created a meditation on violence, injustice, and cruelty in which roles are reversed. (source: Catalogue 40th Karlovy Vary IFF)