MUBI

Opening my domestic Korean film festival is Kim Ki-duk’s popular film, 3-Iron, although its Korean title supposedly means empty house, a more appropriate title in my opinion. The film surrounds two lost souls who seek to assimilate themselves into some form, in fact any form, of a domestic unit amidst a contemporary society only to meet with little success.

The entire film is rather oneiric, that is to say dreamlike, with musical motifs, virtually mute characters, strange fades and rather unreal series of events. These can be criticised (as the common criticism of surrealism goes) as being strange for the sake of being strange, but I disagree. Through presenting an oneiric landscape, Kim is able to explore the psychological tribulations of the characters to greater success. Furthermore, the characters’ unreal actions can certainly be explained. This oneiric form of the film fruitfully complements the film’s themes, which mainly revolves around alienation, a theme very relevant to this century. Thanks for the competent and suitable execution!