3-Iron
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Year Released: 2004
Rating: 3.5
Mindful, 'spiritual' continuation of what Kim did with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring as a young man and an abused woman run away together, squat in people's homes, play golf in the park and generally live in the moment. As it progresses, it becomes more and more abstract, but the more abstract it gets, the more powerful it gets, alluding to the complex nature of relationships (most telling in the final scenes, where the woman's marriage is renewed through her love of another man's spirit) and need for acceptance no matter what one's fate may be. Perhaps it's just me, but this particular film seems to be inspired by the work of Tsai Ming-Liang (Vive L'Amour in particular), using an equal share of oddity and heartbreak for a disarming cinematic blend. If you allow yourself to be swept up into the 'flow' of this movie like I did, you might find the pacing - and blessed lack of chit-chat - becomes almost hypnotic.
