3-Iron (Bin-jip) (2004) - Kim Ki Duk
This movie really caught me by surprise. I'd heard it was good but the poster and the story outline didn't excite me greatly but yesterday I decided to watch it - mainly because most of the Korean movies I've watched lately have been full of murder, revenge and more (as they tend to be) and wanted to watch something lighter. Well, this is an amazing film.
Kim directed another great film, Spring, Summer, Fall ..., but I actually didn't realise that before watching this. It tells the story of a guy who breaks into peoples homes when they are on holiday and lives there. He doesn't steal anything - just lives there and fixes their stuff, does their washing, etc. At one of the houses, one of the residents is unexpectedly still there - an abused wife. From there starts perhaps the most beautiful relationship I have ever seen in a movie. It is two broken people who find their soul mate.
This movie is not for everyone but if, like me, you love movies with characters that you can empathise with, this is for you. But don't expect anything like a romance movie with long speeches professing love ... neither of the leads say a word until the 80th minute of the movie - and the lead actor never speaks
There is a very mild fantasy element to the story as it goes on and overall the story is quite unrealistic but that almost makes it more endearing.
I loved this movie. 10/10