Spiritually profound and visually stunning: Kim Ki-Duk at his best! In his spiritually profound and visually stunning movies, many of which were acclaimed as timeless masterpieces, Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea's most innovative director to date, continually shows no necessity for words. Mostly leaving his main characters in silence, he inspires his spectators to turn away from their accustomed reliance on spoken dialogues in order to assure them that through simple eye contact and basic body movements, characters can be understood just as well. If you have already had the pleasure to check out some of the master's previous work, you'll get the picture!
Ki-Duk's latest drama, an ensnaring and substantially passionate love story entitled 'Bin-Jip' ('3-Iron'), tells the stirring tale of Tae-Suk (played brilliantly by Hyun-kyoon Lee), a young drifter who leaves ad fliers on front doors during the day, and breaks into temporarily vacant homes at night. He has no intentions to steal though, and is only looking for a cozy place to stay. Wherever he finds shelter, he inquisitively explores the interior decoration with his digital camera, cleans up a little, repairs damaged gadgets, and makes the laundry before he leaves again for his daily job.
One day, Tae-Suk's calm life instantly changes when he penetrates the mansion of a wealthy businessman named Min-gyu (Hyuk-ho Kwon). Not expecting anyone home, he suddenly bumps into the beautiful Sun-hwa (Seung-yeon Lee), the lady of the house, and popular ex- model, who's been hiding in the dark corner of her bedroom. The bruises on her face suggest that her husband is beating her, but she won't utter a single word about it. In fact, she does not say a single word at all. Nor does Tae-Suk. They just stare at each other, making room for an immediate attraction that connects both their hearts and souls
It is this one intimate, mutual attraction between the main characters that crafts the unique substance of 'Bin-Jip', a very calm, yet periodically violent and profoundly heart-warming cinematic experience that invites us to dive into a world existing between reality and pure imagination. Just like Kim Ki-Duk's previous dramas 'The Isle' and the astounding Buddhist tale 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
and Spring'; which pulled you straight into the movie and onto a lake, 'Bin-Jip' pulls you right into the middle of a big house surrounded by violence, grief and an acute lack of love.
Sun-hwa is a victim, dying to be invisible, and desperate to find a new home, away from Min- gyu and his rude behavior towards her. Tae-Suk, a stranger wandering, not existing in one spot, is her ideal savior: he has experience in finding new homes, and will take Sun-hwa with him on what is about to become the journey of her life. Although a character unsympathetic to us spectators, the husband, Min-gyu, is as much an object of curiosity as the main figures. His personality is enigmatic, his heart empty, and he cannot stand the fact that his wife refuses to talk to him.
Whereas the first part of 'Bin-Jip', though speechless, introduces the different characters, their intentions, lifestyles and habits (Min-gyu is a passionate golfer, and surprisingly, Tae- Suk shares the same interest), the second half triggers a number of sincere emotions in a set of partly violent (involving beating with a stick in some prison scenes), partly vibrant (Min- gyu tracking down his fugitive wife) scenes culminating in what I consider one of the most well-filmed, well-edited and above all, most emotionally striking finale I've seen in years.
Invisibility is another aspect playing a major role in 'Bin-Jip', and despite mentioning that it dominates the second part of the film, I will not go further into it as of a risk to reveal more. Kim Ki-Duk just masterly examines how two human beings prohibited of love try to coexist with one another. He makes us reflect on reality as opposed to imagination, and challenges us with two complex, yet very interesting questions: do we only believe what we see, or do we sometimes see things that don't exist just because we want to believe in them?
A word on the acting performances and the cinematography. It says over at IMDb.com that Kim Ki-Duk wrote the screenplay in one month, shot the pic in 16 days and edited it in 10. Fast job indeed, but the quality of the image is near perfect, with the camera mostly making calm, proper movements. All three actors involved deliver first-class performances, with Seung-yeon Lee stealing the show due to her matchless beauty and her truly incredible smile. Picking utterly authentic actors is one of Kim Ki-Duk's many, many specialties.
Once again, the South-Korean superstar has created a fable that catches our breath as it tells a love story as it has never been told before. Winner of four awards at the Venice Film Festival, including the Special Director's Award, 'Bin-Jip' is yet another masterpiece invading the list of this year's top films. The movie may not top the timeless excellence of 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
and Spring', but it boasts a little more passion than 'The Isle'. Then again, comparing Kim Ki-Duk films is pointless: whatever he directs, he's always a winner! (Grade: B+) (worldcinema.lu)