Story: A lonely old man who owns a fishing boat finds a small girl, and raises her to be his wife. Ten years pass, she grows, and the wedding day draws nearer and nearer. But one day a young man close to the girl’s age boards the ship, and he and the girl form a bond. The old man, in his jealousy, tries to severe these ties, but only serves to make the situation worse. The course of the film sees these three characters coming to terms with some truths about themselves, and each other.
Review: Kim Ki-duk returns to the sea with his latest offering, The Bow. Thankfully maintaining the patient style of cinema fans of his have all become accustomed to.
There’s little faulting how well this story is told. Every scene takes place on the fishing boat, but at no point does this detract from the experience. It only serves to enhance it, as the fact we’re stranded on the boat for every second of the 90-minute running time is representative of both the old man’s, and the young girl’s existence. This one thing, floating upon the water, is all they’ve come to want of the world. As far as they’re concerned, it’s at the centre of the universe. Every room, and object, and painting on, and around the boat, bear a special significance to the story.
The characters themselves are rich in meaning, and layered surprisingly well. The old man (Jeon Seong-hwang), while essentially someone who at one point kidnapped a child, is slowly modelled into a lonely person who you end up sympathetic of. The young girl (Han Yeo-reum; star of Ki-duk’s Samaritan Girl), who seemingly has no recollection of family, has adopted the old man as her carer, but, in her innocence, is not fully understanding of the relationship the old man wants with her until some way into the movie. Finally, the young man (Seo Si-jeok), is perhaps the hardest character to interpret in the movie. His involvement is perplexing, purely because you’re not fully aware of his purpose, or whether he’s completely dedicated to fulfilling the purpose you THINK he’s there for. I can’t really elaborate on that without perhaps spoiling some of the film, but just keep that in mind if and when you watch for yourself.
As was the fashion with other Ki-duk greats, such as Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… And Spring and 3-Iron, the director decides to rely very little on dialogue to emphasize the thoughts and feelings of his characters. Instead he orchestrates the drama with expressions, actions, and consequences. As a former student of fine art, this method of storytelling fits him like his birthday suit, and has quickly become a penchant of the Ki-duk cinematic experience. In a sense this directorial style is like his small rebellion against mainstream cinema. In an industry where films currently serve you all the facts you could possibly need on a big, shiny platter, he is far more willing to give the audience the credit it deserves.
The Bow is a work of simple, eloquent poetry. While the ending of the movie was a little confusing (let’s just say it involved a ghost some how having sex), the movie on a whole was brilliantly realised. It’s this ability to make barebones movies so engrossing that makes Kim Ki-duk the envy of film-makers the world over. He is truly a director out to prove a point: as much as Hollywood may try to convince you otherwise; a million-dollar budget and elaborately large sets by no means equate to a quality motion picture. Bravo, Kim Ki-duk, for consistently making your point oh-so well. Here’s hoping you don’t drop the anti-mainstream mindset any time soon.
What lies in the shadow of the statue? .
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