Internationally acclaimed Korean writer-director Ki-duk Kim (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER... AND SPRING) has created a masterful, wholly original drama with 3-IRON, which follows the trials and tribulations of an odd young man, Tae-suk (Hee Jae), who spends his days putting flyers on people's doors just so he can check who hasn't taken them down after a day or two; believing those families to be away, he breaks into their homes and settles in for a while, cooking, cleaning, watching television, and sleeping, all done with an intoxicating charm. But one day he is caught by a troubled young woman, Sun-hwa (Seung-yeon Lee), whose husband, Min-kyu (Hyuk-ho Kwon), abuses her mentally and physically; when the husband returns home, Tae-suk uses the man's 3-iron to hit golf balls at him. Sun-hwa then goes off with Tae-suk, joining him on his journey to empty houses, where they pretend to be part of the vacationing family. But when they walk into an apartment and find a man dead, their world changes despite their attempts to protect it. It's at that point that director Kim really starts having fun. 3-IRON is an intense, enjoyable, mystical film filled with subtlety and tenderness. That is especially surprising since the two main characters, who find solace in each other's company, never speak a word.
THEATRICAL RELEASE: APRIL 29, 2005 (LIMITED)
DVD Features:
Anamorphic - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Korean
Dolby Surround Sound - French
Subtitles - English, French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - Kim Ki-Duk - Director
Trailers - Sony Pictures Previews
Stars
Seung-yeon Lee: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Hee Jae: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Hyuk-ho Kwon: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Jin-mo Joo: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Jeong-ho Choi: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Joo-suk Lee: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Sung-hyuk Moon: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Jee-ah Park: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Jae-yong Jang: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Dah-hae Lee: Actor, 3-IRON (2005)
Director
Kim Ki-Duk: Director, THE ISLE (2002)
Producer
Ki-Duk Kim: Screenwriter, 3-IRON (2005)
Screenwriter
Ki-Duk Kim: Screenwriter, 3-IRON (2005)
Composer
Slvian: Composer, 3-IRON (2005)
Executive Producer
Michio Suzuki: Executive Producer, 3-IRON (2005)
Executive Producer
Yong-bae Choi: Executive Producer, 3-IRON (2005)
Director of Photography
Seung-beck Jang: Director of Photography, 3-IRON (2005)
Review 1:
"The movie camera is able to make the impossible look natural and the ordinary seem strange....Mr. Kim is a master of such estrangement, and 3-IRON is a teasing, self-conscious and curiously heartfelt demonstration of his mischievous formal ingenuity."
Source: New York Times
p.E16 04/29/2005
Review 2:
"Alternately witty, caustic, tender and endlessly imaginative and unpredictable, this latest film from one of Korea's most idiosyncratic and prolific directors is as confident as its resourceful hero, Tae-suk."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.E13 04/29/2005
Review 3:
"3-IRON is like a Raymond Carver story that slowly, inexorably takes on the dimensions of a ghostly fairy tale."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.65 05/13/2005
Review 4:
"[T]his offbeat little charmer ends with a reality-blurring supernatural twist that hangs in the air like a kiss."
Source: Uncut
p.128 08/01/2005
Review 5:
"[T]his multi-layered love story rings true with sweetness..."
Source: Premiere
p.128 10/01/2005
Review 6:
"[A] deliberately paced, hypnotic drama....[With] a beguiling effect."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.91 03/01/2006