Customer Reviews

The Bow

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ten years or so ago an old man kidnapped a seven-year-old girl and took her to sea. On his small boat the old man provided the girl with food, clothing, and care, but he never allowed her to leave the boat. Although at first the old man might seem like a kindly, albeit creepy, grandfatherly figure, the man's plans for the girl are not so pure because he plans to marry her on her seventeenth birthday.

The old man and the girl live isolated from society, but in order to provide for himself and his young "fiancé," the old man allows weekend warriors to fish on his boat. Also, the couple is able to predict the future through an odd divination in which the girl swings in a swing attached to the boat in front of an image of the Buddha while the man shoots three arrows into the Buddha. The girl then removes the three arrows, whispers her fortune to the old man, and then the old man whispers the fortune to his patron.

Because the girl has spent more than half of her life on the boat she is incredibly naïve and trusting. Dressed in thin dresses, even in the bitter cold, the girl is not hesitant to sit close to the fishermen and because she has grown into a stunning young woman, many of the fishermen try to take advantage of her simple nature. However, the old man is always on guard and shoots arrows at anyone whose hands become a bit too adventuresome.

Ignorant of the world, the girl seems content to live with the old man even allowing him to bathe her every night, however, one day a teenage boy is amongst those who come to fish on the old man's boats and the young girl feels a stirring in her heart that she has not felt before. After this meeting, the girl tries to grow distant from the old man and refuses his affection. However, can she truly escape her watery prison and does she really want to escape?

Being that The Bow is my first introduction to the films of Kim Ki-duk I am a little at a disadvantage to understand the themes of his films, but I can say that I truly enjoyed watching the film. The music sounds a bit like a New Age recording, but it is quite enjoyable and it fits the solitary nature of the film. This is definitely a film that I need to watch again; along with other Kim Ki-duk films, in order to truly appreciate it. Although the dialogue is at the bare minimum, I believe this film has a deeper meaning that words cannot convey.

Kim Ki-Duk is a very acclaimed director from Korea. He is responsible for Korean Masterpieces: THE ISLE, SPRING SUMMER FALL.., TIME, BAD GUY, 3-IRON and some others. This director's style is that he expresses his films with very little dialogue, he intends the actors, actresses to express the story through the expression of raw emotion. You may say his films are a bit on the "artsy" side, but for me, his films deal with the frailties of the human spirit, man's weaknesses and their ability to adapt.

The story centers around an old man in his sixties who has been raising a young girl(Han Yeo Reum, Samaritan girl) since childhood on a ship that floats unanchored off Korea's coastline. The girl hasn't been outside the confides of the boat and as a result, her world are obviously quite limited, but still she seems satisfied and 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. Afterwards, the girl whispers in the old man's ear the 'said' fortune. (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 as I've read)

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 manhandling the young girl, who braves the elements in a flimsy dress, and who (like all the women in Kim's films) is pretty gorgeous. Most of the fishermen gossip that the old man supposedly kidnapped the young girl when she was too young to remember. Soon, however, a sensitive male college student shows up on board and develpos a liking for the girl. The old man discovers he's going to need more than a bow if he wants to keep the delectable young thing for himself.

Kim's mostly common approach to expression is to set the story in an isolated or a marginalized world, usually a physical space or a way of life(like 3-IRON, Time), places that certain specific rules and customs would apply. Examples are the floating temple in Spring.., the red light district in Bad Guy, the lake in the Isle, the motel in the Bird Inn, etc. The delight of watching his films come from exploring and coming to understand these worlds, the applied rules and how they operate.

In the Bow, we see that the bow itself is a means of defense for the old man and the girl in a series of repeating incidents. It characterizes the "society" of the boat by showing first, a man's skill with the bow, and then how the girl's spatial knowledge of the boat and archery skills is a second line of defense.
These scenes don't add to character depth, and compounded by the fact that they hardly talk to each other, while much of the film shows the old man and the girl growing more emotionally detached, all they can do is trade angry/annoyed stares at each other. (over and over again, again and again)It gets a little repetitive after a while, however, the strong performances of the two leads does help the film along. You can really observe that one building emotion within.
Kim's style with the limited dialogue approach hampers this film, it comes more like a gimmick and not an integral part of the film. The lack of words by the lead characters(because they hardly know each other) in THE ISLE and 3-IRON worked very well because they could communicate emotionally and the silence accentuates their strange bond. Kim's approach to his film "TIME" would have served well in the "The Bow".

I have the Korean Region-3 release, and from experience, I know Tartan will utilize the transfer from this dvd. The Korean release is almost 122 minutes long, I'm not sure how long the U.S. version is, specs say 90 minutes, I'm not sure.
PICTURE: Anamorphic Widescreen. The transfer is fitting to the film. It is sharp and has good black levels. Some scenes have a bit more grain than others do.
AUDIO/SUBTITLES: Korean 5.1 DD and DTS. The subtitles are well timed and executed.
EXTRAS: Trailers, Interviews, commentary.

In Closing: Although "The Bow" it is not one of Kim Ki-duk's best, it is very much still worth a look. Always approach his films when you are in a certain mood. You will not be able to figure this one out until its climax.
Done perfect or not, Kim Ki-Duk always takes you on a ride. As with most of his films, the ending is pretty much open to the viewer's interpretation. Whether you take it literally or as a metaphor(that's how I took it) is entirely up to you, it is the beauty of Kim's film making.
RECOMMENDED!!

Ten years or so ago an old man kidnapped a seven-year-old girl and took her to sea. On his small boat the old man provided the girl with food, clothing, and care, but he never allowed her to leave the boat. Although at first the old man might seem like a kindly, albeit creepy, grandfatherly figure, the man's plans for the girl are not so pure because he plans to marry her on her seventeenth birthday.

The old man and the girl live isolated from society, but in order to provide for himself and his young "fiancé," the old man allows weekend warriors to fish on his boat. Also, the couple is able to predict the future through an odd divination in which the girl swings in a swing attached to the boat in front of an image of the Buddha while the man shoots three arrows into the Buddha. The girl then removes the three arrows, whispers her fortune to the old man, and then the old man whispers the fortune to his patron.

Because the girl has spent more than half of her life on the boat she is incredibly naïve and trusting. Dressed in thin dresses, even in the bitter cold, the girl is not hesitant to sit close to the fishermen and because she has grown into a stunning young woman, many of the fishermen try to take advantage of her simple nature. However, the old man is always on guard and shoots arrows at anyone whose hands become a bit too adventuresome.

Ignorant of the world, the girl seems content to live with the old man even allowing him to bathe her every night, however, one day a teenage boy is amongst those who come to fish on the old man's boats and the young girl feels a stirring in her heart that she has not felt before. After this meeting, the girl tries to grow distant from the old man and refuses his affection. However, can she truly escape her watery prison and does she really want to escape?

Being that The Bow is my first introduction to the films of Kim Ki-duk I am a little at a disadvantage to understand the themes of his films, but I can say that I truly enjoyed watching the film. The music sounds a bit like a New Age recording, but it is quite enjoyable and it fits the solitary nature of the film. This is definitely a film that I need to watch again; along with other Kim Ki-duk films, in order to truly appreciate it. Although the dialogue is at the bare minimum, I believe this film has a deeper meaning that words cannot convey.

Another masterpiece from Korean director Ki Duk! If you haven't seen some of his previous works than I highly suggest that you do. Kim Ki Duk's film are mood driven pieces and you always feel the emotion he brings. Like his last couple of flicks there really isn't that much dialouge from his main charachters. He tells the story through expression and you feel the charachter's pain, joy, and loss. The story is of a man who wants to wed a younger female. He is a fortune teller and he knows that his time is almost up. I sat in awe the entire time watching this film. The soundtrack is worth the price of admission. The film is in DTS and the transfer is beautiful! Very similar in ways to 3 IRON and SPRING SUMMER!

I was scanning movies on Netflix and accidently came upon this movie. This story is quite preverted and it's about an old man who held an under aged girl captive on a boat. He is waiting for her to be old enough so that he can marry and have sex with her. The old man runs into competition when another young man comes into the picture. This movie is soo unbelievable because some how nothing is being done to get the old creep to be arrested or the girl to just leave. I don't know how this boring and preverted movie can be called "artistic". It just out right creepy. Secondly, this movie is slower than a half legged slug trying to cross the freeway. I had to fast foward many times through out the movie. My curiousity got the best of me and was wondering what this hoopla was all about....well, the only shocking thing was the ending...which in a way is soo retarded as well.

Imagine if that was your daughter, how artistic will it be? I guess not. Ask Jaycee Lee Dugard how artistic it was to be kidnapped and hold hostage for years?

I'm relatively new to watching foreign movies and this one by Kim Ki-Duk is a jewel. The story line is a bit of a stretch; a 60 year old man taking care of a young girl he found lost/abandon in the city, and he is making plans to marry her when she is of age (i.e., 17). I won't tell the story because several reviewers have done more than an adequate job of that already. However, I will say that there is something about this movie that just draws you in. The music is mesmerizing, character development is excellent, and the acting is superb. There isn't a hold lot of dialogue, so those who don't like reading subtitles don't fret. Besides, you can pretty much figure out what's going on anyway. So if you've never seen a Korean movie before this one definitely will not disappoint.

Yeo-reum Han is going to be one of those actresses that you just know will have a bright future in films. This is evident in her acting here. She hardly says a word but her presence is captivating(no pun intended). One of my problems with the story was with the old man and how his character was written, without giving away too much, he took the girl when she was very young intending to marry her when she got older, in short, he kidanpped her! Yet he brings back people to his boat to fish, people who seem to know all about what he did and no one seems to care or turn him into the police?! Until the girl takes a liking to a young man, then things get a little more realistic. Realistic until the very ending, which is the other problem I have with this movie, but I won't go there and give away any spoilers. I think if you can get past these two problems then you will enjoy the movie, as I said you should just by seeing
Yeo-reum Han.

Compared to Kim Ki Duk's stunningly imaginative 3-IRON, and even compared to the lesser SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER... AND SPRING -- this is a disappointment. While, once again, the 2 main characters don't talk, the supporting characters are relative chatterboxes which makes the silence of the 2 main characters seem unjustified (in fact, the writer cheats by having them whisper a couple times in someone's ear).

Like Kim Ki Duk's other movies, the heart of the plot integrates very questionable ethics with hardly any guilty feedback. This is more noticeable in this film. As are the implausibilities. Ultimately, this film was too vague and the final act too mystical and symbolic to be satisfying for me.

While the acting by the old man is good, the the young actress had no depth.

I'll give it 3 stars cuz it kept my interest up by successfully conveying the emotional struggle -- and it was imaginative. That'll be enuf to keep me interested in Kim's other works -- but more for style than content.

Kim Ki Duk has achieved a prominent status as talented, sensitive and magisterial filmmaker due its proposed works, that really have specific weight and allude visibly to those arcane stories, hovered and permeated by a clear inspiration of the traditional Eastern legends.

An old fisherman picks up a girl since her early childhood, becoming his reason of daily inspiration and living. The time has come and now she is an alluring teenager; however he has decided toe establish the day of marriage for the next three weeks. Both of them in a boat, in the middle of the sea and he always leaves in the boat just to get the elemental supplies.

But the love will make its appearance when a young boy, accidentally comes. The old man is aware of her visible change and reject to him.

So, with that simple premise "The bow" will emerge with all its visual splendor without letting us to know what they are talking because the fisherman and the girl don't say a word and only communicate through signals, unhearing whispers and expressive sights.

One of the most beautiful films that I've ever seen and certainly one of the most pyramidal and poetic movies of this raising century. it's useless to affirm we are in presence of a landmark classic of the cinema.

A man in his sixties, who lives on a boat which sits in the ocean many miles off the coast of Korea, kidnaps a six-year-old girl and keeps her as a prisoner for ten years, planning to marry her on her seventeenth birthday, after which they will continue to live on his boat. She is a beautiful girl who wears scanty clothes, even on cold, windy days. Every evening she sits naked in a tub of warm water, smiling sensuously, while the old man "lovingly" washes her. He makes his living bringing men to his boat who want to fish on the weekend. Most of the men assume that the nubile girl is the man's granddaughter, but that doesn't deter them from making sexual advances toward her, or even from attempting to rape her. Luckily, the old man and the girl easily foil these advances with the skillful use of bows and arrows.

But one day, a month shy of the wedding, a nice, handsome young man comes to the boat and things get complicated. He and the wordless girl instantly like each other, and a little research on the mainland reveals that the girl's parents have been looking for their missing daughter for ten years. But instead of bringing the police to the boat, the young man comes back alone and asks the old man to let her go, saying that he is being selfish and unfair to her. He doesn't agree - surprise! - but he finally agrees to let her go.

Just when it looks like the girl is going back to the mainland to reunite with her parents and have a normal life, the old man tries to kill himself and the girl decides to marry him after all - out of love, gratitude, or pity I do not know. They marry themselves in a self-serve ceremony, with the young man as a witness. After the wedding, the old man plays the erhu, serenading his child-wife to sleep. He then dives into the ocean and drowns himself, but his ghost comes back in the form of an arrow and proceeds to consummate the marriage, with the young man watching as the girl writhes and moans, finishing with a bright red stain of conjugal blood on her virginal white gown.

I won't argue with anyone who says that this is an art film. It is a film of moods, emotions, and compelling visual images. But let's be honest and admit that it comes down to a child porn fantasy, that doesn't cross any legal lines. The old man doesn't really care about the girl and he is obviously sexually obsessed with her, and in a very calculated and evil way he has fashioned the girl to be naive, innocent, compliant, and sensual - the perfect sort of girl that a child molester dreams about. I am amazed that no other reviewer has pointed out this aspect of the film, and no amount of "artsiness" or "genius" can hide it.

Do I have a dirty, cynical mind and am I missing the whole point, or the whole metaphor, of this story? I don't think so, if you consider that this film reminded me of another foreign film which is one of my favorites, and has a similar theme - Woman of the Dunes, a 1964 Japanese film. I welcome comments from those who disagree with me, but I would ask that you watch Woman of the Dunes first.