AKA: The Bow.
Director: Kim Ki-Duk.
Language: Korean.
Release year: 2005.
Rating: * * * *
Every time I watch a Kim Ki-Duk flick, the only certainty that plays on my mind is that, no matter what, his movie would definitely leave me thinking; sometimes, even for days after having watched it. The musing is not a result of the movie being a good, or an average one (I refuse to believe that Kim Ki-Duk has the ability to make a bad movie), but because of the sheer audacity with which the director chooses to portray a relatively simple concept, twisting it completely out of shape at times, and, yet, managing to preserve the surreal core, that complements the narrative in its own peculiar way. “Hwal” only cements my superstitious belief in the magic that Kim Ki-Duk’s movies always possess.
An old man (Seong-hwang Jeon), easily in his 60s, has been taking care of a girl on his fishing boat, ever since he found her about 10 years ago. Out at sea, in the middle of nowhere, the old man has spent his past 10 years, bringing up the girl, with the intent of marrying her once she turns 17, which is due in a couple of months. The old man has never compromised on the distance between him and the girl, and has never taken undue advantage of their unguarded presence. To make a living, the old man ferries anglers from mainland for a fishing excursion aboard his boat. To supplement his income, he even uses his bizarre method to tell fortune for his willing customers. The process is bizarre because the old man shoots three arrows at a picture of Buddha painted on the side of his boat, while the girl, on a swing, sways across his line of sight, narrowly escaping the arrows almost every single time. Depending on the spots the arrows hit, the girl interprets it and whispers the fortune into the old man’s ears, who relays the same message and in the same fashion to his customers.
Of course, the fact that an old man has a nubile girl, living with him onboard, raises eyebrows among all his customers. To protect the socially-vulnerable girl from lecherous hands, the old man lets his bow and arrow do the talking. The first shot that whizzes past the pervert in question, serves as a warning, followed by forcing them off his boat and ferrying them back to the mainland. On other tranquil occasions, the old man uses the same bow, with minor additions, as a stringed instrument meant for one of the few recreational purposes the couple indulges in on the boat. The wedding day is the only catalyst that propels the old man’s desire to get through the day, which is evident in his buying clothes and accessories with his modest income, for her to-be bride and himself.
The girl uses the whole of the boat as her personal space, where she’s comfortable enough to sashay around in her typical teenage, scanty dresses; sometimes, even in the presence of customers. This freewheeling attitude of hers does land her in trouble, but having learnt the tricks of the archery trade from the old man, she’s quite adept at defending herself from the drooling pack of deviants. The girl shows no sign of rebel or disgust at the notion of living, and eventually, getting married to a person old enough to be her grandfather. The reason is probably the feeling of owing her better part of life to that man. However, those indebted emotions soon take a nosedive when a teenage boy shows up among other customers for a fishing trip. The girl doesn’t miss even a beat to fall head-over-heels for him, and the boy, too, seems to be smitten by this puzzling girl. This development doesn’t go down well with the man of the house, and, understandably, he gets rid of the boy soon after. The boy promises to return with the information about the girl’s parents who, he’s certain, must still be looking for their child.
Here, to the old man’s chagrin, the girl soon starts throwing tantrums, and resisting his every move. She even deliberately incenses him by trying to get too close to a random customer. All her ensuing efforts are devoted to breaking the old man’s will, and browbeat him into doing something stupid, or even harming himself. The final reel of the movie showcases the teenage boy’s efforts of talking some sense into the old guy, and helping him realize how lecherously greedy and unfair he’s been, and continues to be to the girl, whose parents haven’t stopped looking for their child to this date. What follows is probably the best part of the movie, with some shocking and visually creative elements, and introduces us to the fringes of human psyche.
Kim Ki-Duk, yet again, conveys, reaffirms and re-emphasizes the true nature of cinema. Being a visual medium, he proves that pictures and expressions indeed speak a thousand words. You don’t need your primary characters to put in words the banalities of their everyday life, the bliss they experience by being close to someone they love, the agony that eats at them when their heart’s broken, or the drive for retribution when they’re wronged. A simple raise of the eyebrow, pouted lips, frowned foreheads, a nod of the head, fiery eyes, a smile, a look of longing and a simple drop of tear is absolutely sufficient to cover the whole gamut of human emotions. Kim Ki-Duk specializes in this department, as a result of which, his primary characters either don’t ever utter a syllable in his movies, or they keep it to their bare minimum, and “Hwal” is no different.
Being stripped of dialogues, the two leads of the movie still leave a lasting impression. Han Yeo-reum’s vulnerable, enigmatic, naïve and ultimately, besotted in love portrayal, elicits empathy. The ambivalence she displays later on really gets to you, even if the incidental scenes may be riling to many uptight moviegoers. Seong-hwang Jeon as the selfish caretaker is really one of the strong points of this movie. His apathy towards the girl’s regressed and muted free will and sentiments, along with his tenacity to take advantage of the same, has “human” written all over it. And the latter verisimilitude of transition in his character’s traits only underscores the adroitness with which the actor plays out his part. As usual, I had some of the scenes bookmarked in my mind, one of which is the fortune-telling method and the way it’s been shot. Another one that defies norms of what general masses perceive is the coition scene. Mark my words; it’s unlike any intimate scene you’ve ever seen, and chances are, that it’ll be the only one of its kind. For some, the reaction may fall anywhere among disgust, derision, eccentric and whatnot. But for me, it was absolutely ethereal.
The movie had a very tranquil background score, reflecting the still ripples of the water the boat was floating in. The melody really got under my skin and made the whole experience even more unreal and bewitching. I’d be stating the obvious if I start praising Kim Ki-Duk’s efforts as a director, writer and editor in this movie. For the uninitiated, try combining Lars Von Trier’s sheer dissenting, lopsided, yet, rational worldview, with the occult, phantasmagorical, and sometimes, breathtaking visual execution of David Lynch. The outcome of the aforementioned mixture will somewhat resemble Kim Ki-Duk’s talents. If my cryptic yet, simple attempt at describing Kim Ki-Duk’s proclivities falls short of painting a remotely vivid picture, then chances are that you’ll never enjoy his movies, let alone comprehending it. However, if you’re one of those, who have the ability to find the twisted beauty in the extremities of human psyche appealing, then you’re bound to be captivated by Kim Ki-Duk’s movies, including this one.
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