![[DVD] The Bow (Region-3)](https://sep.turbifycdn.com/ay/hanbook/the-bow-region-3-6.gif "[DVD] The Bow (Region-3)")
Starring: Jeon Seong-Hwan, Han Yeo-Reum, Seo Ji-Seok
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Studio: KD Media
Rating: 15+
Genre: Drama
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About This DVD
The story centers around a man in his sixties who has been raising a young girl
since childhood on a ship that floats unanchored off Korea's western coast.
Though the borders of her world are obviously quite limited, she seems happy,
and the old man plans to marry her the day she reaches legal age. The two make
their living by hosting fishermen aboard the boat, and also tell fortunes in a
rather bizarre and dangerous fashion, by shooting arrows whizzing past the
girl's head into a Buddhist painting on the side of the boat. (This method of
fortune-telling appears to have been invented by Kim, though possibly inspired
by the common practice of dropping a dart onto a spinning disc)
The film opens in striking fashion with a shot of the weapon that inspired the
film's title. When fitted with an additional piece, the bow becomes a stringed
instrument. Sadly, however, the instrument doesn't fit into the film's plot
beyond providing for occasional mood music. The bow is utilized more often as a
means of fending off lecherous fisherman from the young girl, who braves the
dead of winter in a flimsy dress, and who (like all the women in Kim's films) is
pretty gorgeous. Soon, however, a sensitive male college student shows up on
board, and the old man discovers he's going to need more than a bow if he wants
to keep the delectable young thing for himself.
One of Kim's most common approaches to storytelling is to set up an isolated or
marginalized world (usually a physical space, but sometimes a way of life like
in 3-Iron) that operates by its own elaborate set of rules and customs. Examples
include the red-light district in Bad Guy, the lake in The Isle, the motel in
Birdcage Inn, or the floating temple in Spring, Summer, etc... Part of the
pleasure in watching his films comes in exploring and coming to understand these
worlds and how they operate. For example, in The Bow we are shown how the girl
and the old man defend themselves in a series of repeated scenes. First we are
shown the man's skill with the bow, then we see how the girl's spatial knowledge
of the boat and archery skills can serve as a second layer of defense. These
scenes don't really add much depth to the human characters, but they
characterize the "society" of the boat itself.
This is compounded by the fact that the two main characters do not speak to each
other. It's true that one of Kim's strengths is to be able to tell stories using
very little dialogue. The lack of dialogue between the leads in The Isle and
3-Iron worked well because these couples could communicate with each other
emotionally, and the absence of words only accentuated their strange bond.
However, in The Bow the old man and the girl spend much of the film growing
emotionally more detached. Since they don't talk, the only way left for them to
communicate is to trade angry stares, which they do, over and over and over
again. In this way, the lack of dialogue comes across feeling more like a
gimmick than an integral part of the film.
| Audio Format: | DD 5.1 Surround, DD 2.0 Stereo, DTS |
| Video Format: | Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) |
| Languages: | Korean |
| Subtitles: | English, Korean |
| Country Made: | Korea |
| Region Code: | 3 |
| Year Made: | 2005 |
| Running Time: | 89 / 38 |
| Special Features: | - Randomly Signatured Edition
by Director & Casts - Making of Film - Production Notes - Interviews - Commentary by Director & Cast - Trailer |
| Availability: | Unavailable |
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