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3-Iron

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3-Iron (2005)

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Reviews Counted:85

Fresh:74

Rotten:11

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: A tender and moving romance from Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring's director Kim Ki-Duk.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some sexual content.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Apr 29, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $167,892

Synopsis: Tae-suk (JAE Hee) drifts around on his motorcycle looking for empty houses to stay in. He goes from door to door and puts up flyers in the keyholes of each house. He later breaks into the house... Tae-suk (JAE Hee) drifts around on his motorcycle looking for empty houses to stay in. He goes from door to door and puts up flyers in the keyholes of each house. He later breaks into the house where the flyer has not been removed, assuming that the owner is away. Tae-suk lives in the empty house until the owners return, but never steals or ruins anything. He simply guards the houses for a few days, fixing broken items, and even does the owners’ laundry. Before leaving, he puts everything back as it used be. One day, sneaking into a wealthy home, Tae-suk meets his destiny – a married woman named Sun-hwa (LEE Seung-yeon) who has been tormented by her abusive husband. While Tae-suk sneaks around the house, Sun-hwa hides in the dark and silently watches him. At first she's afraid of him, but when she sees him fixing a broken scale, she realizes he's not a thief and continues to observe him. That same night, Tae-suk wakes up suddenly to find Sun-hwa staring at him. He runs out, but the phone rings suddenly. It's Sun-hwa's husband. Tae-suk overhears their conversation and realizes that Sun-hwa has an unhappy marriage and life. Sun-hwa looks silently at him as if she is begging for him to save her. Tae-suk however, turns away and walks out. Tae-suk can't stop thinking about Sun-hwa's imploring eyes. The more he tries to forget about her, the more vivid the images of Sun-hwa become in his mind. Taesuk sneaks into her home again, and watches her in silence. After watching her for a while, Tae-suk turns on music to soothe her soul. He prepares clothes for her while she's in her bath. Sun-hwa senses that Tae-suk has come back for her and starts to feel comfortable. But her comfort turns sour after her husband comes home and tries to force her into having sex. Tae-suk is enraged. He grabs a 3 iron and swings it at golf balls on the ground. The balls strike her husband several times and he collapses. Tae-suk then runs away with Sun-hwa. Together, Tae-suk and Sun-hwa stick flyers onto doors and enter empty houses together. In every home they break into, Tae-suk continues to cook, do chores, and fix broken items. For the first time ever, Sun-hwa feels the real comfort of a home. Tae-suk sees that she is able to smile again, and the two ultimately fall in love with each other. One day, as they enter a house, they discover the dead body of an old man. Taesuk and Sun-hwa bury the body in a respectful ritual, and begin living in the old man's house as if it was their own. Their happy days come to an end when the old man's son makes a surprise visit. He calls the police and they take Tae-suk and Sun-hwa away. Tae-suk is charged with murder, trespassing, and kidnapping, while Sun-hwa is unwillingly brought back to her husband. Sun-hwa lives in hope for the day of Tae-suk’s release. But while in prison, Tae-suk finds a secret way to bring back the joys he and Sun-hwa once had... © -- Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Seung-yeon Lee, Hee Jae, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Jin-mo Joo

Starring: Seung-yeon Lee, Hee Jae, Hyuk-ho Kwon, Jin-mo Joo, Jeong-ho Choi, Joo-suk Lee, Sung-hyuk Moon, Jee-ah Park, Jae-yong Jang, Dah-hae Lee

Director: Kim Ki-Duk

Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Screenwriter: Ki-Duk Kim
Producer: Ki-Duk Kim
Composer: Slvian
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Release:

Sep 6, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for 3-Iron

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
02/27/09
Devin Faraci
Devin Faraci
CHUD
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Time Out New York

3-Iron matches apparent simplicity to a beguiling inscrutability and ends with the most beautifully bizarre menage a trois to have been seen since Takashi Miike's Gozu.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
07/02/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

It's a tribute to Kim's masterful mysteriousness that you are never quite sure what your exact reaction should be, as well as the fact that it's all highly intriguing rather than inscrutably annoying.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

Lo mejor de esta fascinante y extraña película es todo lo que dispara en el espectador en su intento por encontrarle un significado.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment 1 Comment
11/24/06
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

3-Iron est un autre bel ajout à l'univers plus serein de Kim Ki-duk.

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
11/04/06
Jean-François Vandeuren
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama

...μεθυστικοί ρυθμοί και εκκωφαντικές σιωπές...

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
08/30/06
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
08/11/06
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What happens is less important than how it's happening, a film of subtle moments, with feelings and thoughts conveyed almost wordlessly, 3-Iron is both artificial and profound.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/11/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

surreal

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/20/06
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Filmcritic.com

An unusual original story that's rooted in a Buddhist parable.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/03/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A lovely little movie that nonetheless feels slight even with its metaphysical subject.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
01/02/06
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
AV Club
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
08/30/05
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An engrossing, if demandingly obscure, watch.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/15/05
Steve O'Hagan
Steve O'Hagan
Empire Magazine

A poignant love story that seems to exist off the map of the real world, living in the blank spaces vacated by others.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
07/14/05
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
07/14/05
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If the snail's pace doesn't send you to sleep, you'll be rewarded with a tender and unusual love story.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/12/05
Jamie Woolley
Jamie Woolley
BBC
 
 
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