3-Iron (Bin-jip) (Empty Houses) (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Wahida K

  
  First of all I m going to try to find out the arabian song he kept playing. A very very intense Movie. It is just so hard to describe this Movie. I think you have to watch it by yourself. The main characters dont talk a word except the last scene one line. If you really pay… More
  First of all I m going to try to find out the arabian song he kept playing. A very very intense Movie. It is just so hard to describe this Movie. I think you have to watch it by yourself. The main characters dont talk a word except the last scene one line. If you really pay attention you are going to enjoy and understand, especially because the main characters dont talk a word but if you like "rush rush" you d be bored. An unssual and BEAUTIFULL STORY.

• Fernando Rafael Q

  
  Proof that you don't need dialog when your characters and their actions are interesting enough. Of course, there is pleasure in talky scenes à la Tarantino, but this Korean film, directed by Kim Ki-Duk, driven by body language and nuance, does so well without them. There are a… More
  Proof that you don't need dialog when your characters and their actions are interesting enough. Of course, there is pleasure in talky scenes à la Tarantino, but this Korean film, directed by Kim Ki-Duk, driven by body language and nuance, does so well without them. There are a few plot inconsistencies, but this near-silent drama (which surprisingly enough doesn't shy away from some light comedy) is still effective, thanks in part to Lee Seung-yeon's fierce performance.

• Cynthia S

  
  One of the most interesting films I've seen in a very long time. I am a big fan of slow, quiet, atmospheric, engrossing films -- and this delivered in spades. Someone described this as cimema poetry, and I completely agree. Absolutely mesmerizing, and wonderful...

• Randy T

  
  Tae-suk is making his way through life by being where other people aren't. Sun-hwa is a battered wife in desperate need of rescue. <i>3-Iron</i> is the story of how these two unlikely lovers find each other and the lengths they go through to be together. An unusual… More
  Tae-suk is making his way through life by being where other people aren't. Sun-hwa is a battered wife in desperate need of rescue. <i>3-Iron</i> is the story of how these two unlikely lovers find each other and the lengths they go through to be together. An unusual love story told with an economy of dialog that enhances the visual beauty of the film. Intelligent, original and utterly fantastic.

• Justin Y

  
  Director and writer, Ki-duk Kim, receives a lot of recognition for this picture and while it is different and nicely shot, I think you need to be able to endure the slow drama genre to get the most out of this.<p>The concept of this film is interesting and it has a ton of… More
  Director and writer, Ki-duk Kim, receives a lot of recognition for this picture and while it is different and nicely shot, I think you need to be able to endure the slow drama genre to get the most out of this.<p>The concept of this film is interesting and it has a ton of potential. It takes advantage of different settings to maintain viewer interest. Seriously, the first 45 minutes to an hour is pretty much the same things happening over and over again, but the fact that the events happen in different houses is a nice change up. The final 30 minutes of this 90 minute flick becomes a little different and yet it is sort of similar to what happens beforehand. Eventually, it leads to an interesting ending that may leave you thinking.</p><p>The thing that hurts the most is that it is difficulty to see the why. Yes, things are happening and there is some flow to the movie, but why are the characters doing what they are doing and what will come of this? One of the big reasons that you will ask these questions is that the dialogue is minimal. The 2 main characters are together for more than half the film and they say NOTHING. I take that back because one of them has 1 simple line of dialogue the entire 90 minutes.</p><p>The director forces you to live this story through the camerawork and the acting. Both are above average and they have to be. I won't say that this is a bore free film, but the directing really lifts this movie out of the gutter. Seung-yeon Lee and Hyun-kyoon Lee work well together and you come to hate the supporting characters. This is a good thing.</p><p>Ki-duk Kim does a lot of interesting things with this movie and I give props for that. You just need to like this type of film to really enjoy it.

• Arash X

  
  This is sheer genius, Beautiful & touching with excellent choice of music

• Stella D

  
  sweet, sad, quiet, strange and beautiful film. it's a love story between two 'invisible' people with almost no dialogue; in fact the two main characters never speak. this is my second film of ki duk kim and i can say his style is certainly haunting

• Jani H

  
  You get that feeling in the morning when you wake up and you start thinking that you had a beautiful dream of something? Well this movie is like a beautiful dream. I absolutely love this movie. And dreams you usually forget later on, but this one you can see over and over again.

• Luke B

  
  Quite simply a beautiful film. Unravels like poetry. The subtlety Ki-duk Kim infuses his films with is a real testament to his superior film making ability. The relationship that unravels is one of tender genius, with never a word being spoken. Smart and heartbreaking this is a rare… More
  Quite simply a beautiful film. Unravels like poetry. The subtlety Ki-duk Kim infuses his films with is a real testament to his superior film making ability. The relationship that unravels is one of tender genius, with never a word being spoken. Smart and heartbreaking this is a rare treat and should be seen by all. A genuine example of simple ideas rife wit complex emotions.

• Aliyanto L

  
  This is unique film since the actor and the actress never say a word and the end is depend on viewer's interpretation!

• Sarah G

  
  <b>UPDATE: I will probably re-watch this soon and probably have a new review up</b> I didn't know what to make of this one as I don't often watch Korean cinema. I was plesently suprised. Certainly the idea with the film, perhaps "love at first sight"… More
  <b>UPDATE: I will probably re-watch this soon and probably have a new review up</b> I didn't know what to make of this one as I don't often watch Korean cinema. I was plesently suprised. Certainly the idea with the film, perhaps "love at first sight" is here but you might not have seen it. The director certainly has changed this simple idea, which could have been a disaster into a great one. The whole idea of a lonley guy breaking into people's homes cleaning, washing and doing the odd chores around the house may is such a simle idea yet it's made into such a great piece of cinema. At times it's a little hard to watch when Tae-suk is put into prision and he seems to deliberatly want to be hurt pretty badly by the prison officer i found hard to watch. One of the main things about this film is that fact that the two main characters do not speak throughout the entire film, and you're left to judge for youselve as to their motives, feelings at certain points within the film. It's almost like silent cinema really, expect you're not given any additional ideas as to what they may be feeling at any given time. I do like the fact their story is told entirely through their facial features and pure silence. For me, that's genius filmaking, unlike anything I've seen before. The whole scenery of Korea was extremly beautiful, adding to the emotion within the film. The whole Golf theme that emerges through the film does have a hidden connatation there. A lot of characters do this and perhaps it does symobolise getting rid of things or in particular the past which is what the character of Sun is going through. However there are flaws within this. Some bits weren't justified for me. The whole ghost thing was a little odd and why did the police let the husband beat up Jae Hee's charcter? And suddenly he's in prison?! That got me incredibly confused. Overall an interesting film to watch but at times a little hard to comprehend.

• Drew S

  
  Korean films are almost always a delight to look at. Their cinematography is a force to be reckoned with - the images are always crystal clear, beautifully arranged and composed, and aesthetically dazzling. What's more, the accompanying films are almost always great, and 3-Iron… More
  Korean films are almost always a delight to look at. Their cinematography is a force to be reckoned with - the images are always crystal clear, beautifully arranged and composed, and aesthetically dazzling. What's more, the accompanying films are almost always great, and 3-Iron is certainly not an exception. This is a muted love story with a heart, a soul and two really amazing performances. If you want to talk about fine acting, take a look at the male and female protagonists, who perform throughout the entire movie with almost no dialogue (the male never speaks, the female has two lines towards the end). And yet, these two actors communicate unique and fascinating characters even without sappy, prosaic dialogue. That's a force to be reckoned with. Granted, the plot does take a few liberties that turn out rather...stupid. It has to be said. But those moments are washed out by a tale that is simple, sweet and memorable.

• Lanning :

  
  (<b><i>Bin-jip</i></b>) It's hard to tell if the world we live in is either reality or a dream. <p> Well, one thing that's very real about <i>3-Iron</i> is the aura of its country of origin. Virtually silent, meditative, with… More
  (<b><i>Bin-jip</i></b>) It's hard to tell if the world we live in is either reality or a dream. <p> Well, one thing that's very real about <i>3-Iron</i> is the aura of its country of origin. Virtually silent, meditative, with occasional double-shots of scotch, a bowl of noodles, kim chee jars galore, boxing gloves, door-to-door salesmanship, the odd moment of anger, constant tinkering, a propensity for stylish modes of transportation--if this movie doesn't describe my dad to a "T," I'll eat my chopsticks. Man, is this Korean.<p> There are sequences, toward the end, that move a little bit curiously out of the real to a kind of surreal dreamscape, but I think that may be what true love is like sometimes. <p> <b>06/26/06</b>: Third viewing. It is so ironic, flixster friends, that this is <b>the</b> first Korean movie I've ever seen. In my entire life! Shoots, we even have a Korean language TV station here in Hawai`i that I've never even watched. And you know what? I owe even taking a look at <i>3-Iron</i> to the recommendation by a Romanian flixster buddy who just so happens to be a Korean film fan. For this reason alone, I'm so glad I joined flixster. For this, I am truly thankful. <p> You know, in my dad's family, everyone spoke Korean. When he raised me, everyone spoke English. Why, flixster friends? Hey, I'm sure plenty of you know exactly why, especially if you have lived the same generational ideals as our family. It's because, for my father's generation, command of English equalled success. Success in America. So here I am, a true product of the American dream, unable to speak a word of Korean which, now, I so very much wish I could speak. <p> Please do not get me wrong. I honor my dad's generation for their universal well-meaning and loving dedication to ensuring, as best they could, the next generation's well-being and security. For this too, I am truly thankful. <p>For my dad's generation English fluency equalled success and success equalled money. So, flixsters, who do you think is more "successful." according to my dad's generation, my dad or me? The super salesman who's fluent in both Korean and English, or the university employee who can only speak English? Three guesses, gang, and two don't count. Not that I view success in necessarily the same way as my dad's generation, to be sure. But I find this extremely ironic, and I sure as heck wish I were fluent in Korean. Or even Norwegian, for that matter, my maternal lineage. <p> Reality or dream? Yes, indeed. I love this movie. It will not be my last Korean film, guarans-ballbearins--as we say here in Hawai`i.

• Mike N

  
  More pinwheels shooting from my morning mind. This dream I had recently. It was the kind of [color=orange][b]sunrise [/b][/color]you only see in dreams. I remembered them brightly at my old house, and I'm squinting just thinking about it. I remember, it being an east-west… More
  More pinwheels shooting from my morning mind. This dream I had recently. It was the kind of [color=orange][b]sunrise [/b][/color]you only see in dreams. I remembered them brightly at my old house, and I'm squinting just thinking about it. I remember, it being an east-west street, how the sun would bend westward all the way down the road, splotching through the trees and making this amazing maze of [color=darkslategray][b]shadows[/b][/color] and light. Springtime, so [b][color=green]green[/color][/b] and [color=yellow][b]yellow[/b][/color]! This memory was summoned for this dream, for my old home. So I'm driving my hoopdy [color=sienna][b]Buick[/b][/color] (a car I currently own) to my old house, one that I moved from when I was 10 years old. The street was littered with tiny little box turtles, scampering up the street away from the sunrise. I made sure to avoid all turtles with my Buick, carefully parking in front of my house (north side of the street). I turn to my house, and suddenly realize that it feels incomplete. It's the shape of my home, but there was something doused and frozen about it. Before I could explore that further, a great rumbling came from the east. [b][size=3][color=darkgreen]Giant turtles[/color][/size][/b], the size of Godzilla. There were 3 of them, I noticed, walking on their hind legs like big silly men, but bearing the threatening presence of dinosaurs on the loose. Except that you knew they wouldn't eat [color=sandybrown][b]people[/b][/color]. The face of one of the turtles looked familiar, a human face with a [color=green][b]green[/b][/color] freckly complexion, and I never was able to place who it was, only that I knew he was [color=mediumturquoise][b]untrustworthy[/b][/color]. And wore a straw hat, the kind you wave around with a cane in a [color=indigo][b]tap dance[/b][/color] number. They disappeared behind the [color=dimgray][b]greying[/b][/color] perimeters of my dream, down the next street, then behind the yards of a row of houses bordering the east, with tall trees guarding the backyards in a comfortable, unsettling shade. Instinctively I followed the turtles beyond the shade and the trees casting it, floating, or swimming or something. Behind those houses was supposed to be a field. But instead it was [color=blue][b]New York City[/b][/color], skyscrapers hugging the sky, and a [b][color=#ff8040]parade[/color][/b] was taking place. I was dazed, maybe thinking it was a warp I just leapt through, and lost track of [color=silver][b]time[/b][/color] and [color=royalblue][b]space[/b][/color]. I was hovering on auto-pilot, but my eyes were next to my head, like I was a rearview mirror on my head, and could see my eyeless face out the corner of my vision. Buildings curved upward and downward like crescents, exaggerating perspective like a cartoon. There was loud applause somewhere. I leaned my head from halfway up a skyscraper, and saw something shocking on the pavement, next to a manhole so large that it once swallowed the third moon of [color=red][b]Mars[/b][/color]. Next to that manhole were 3 giant [color=green][b]green[/b][/color] puddles with little heads floating within them. They were the turtles, but melted. Their heads were still talking, and the straw hat head seemed annoyed. His brother, who was not innocent, was morose and unspeaking next to him, wearing a beanie. But the turtle I felt sorry for was the straw hat head's son, whose head was swimming merrily with his ears, great big butterfly strokes, in the puddle of his own melted turtle flesh. Immediately I knew how it happened: the [size=3][color=#804000][b]pirates[/b][/color][/size] of New York City and the space [color=deepskyblue][b]rayguns[/b][/color] of the third moon of Mars! Their galleon was gliding by in the parade, ridiculously elaborate sails like great parade balloons, [color=darkorange][b]confetti[/b][/color] everywhere. Or they were multi-colored birds...or some of the confetti changed to birds? I didn't even see the bottom of these NYC canyons, just the 50-story view. I hovered to a nearby corner office window, overlooking the festivities, and there inside was the pirate captain, laying his back on a psychiatrist's chair, dispensing his griefs to a professional-looking woman attentively taking notes. "I didn't actually mean to [color=yellowgreen][b]liquidize[/b][/color] the turtles, it's just in my nature." (He had a [color=green][b]Cajun[/b][/color] hint in his voice, which I think means he wanted turtle [color=#408080][b]gumbo[/b][/color] - I had some while in [color=indigo][b]New Orleans[/b][/color] last year.) Then I was sucked back through the warp to a military facility, looking through a viewhole on a field of dirt clods and craters, the hissing of fireworks or missiles screaming in the night. Out there running was a [color=#804040][b]gingerbread[/b][/color] man, weaving and rolling by each explosion, laughing like a joker. Then it dawned on me: those weren't dirt clods. It was a field entirely made of gingerbread. In fact, the entire earth was gingerbread! The creature was made from [b][color=plum]war[/color][/b], blowing bits of the earth into [color=darkslateblue][b]man-shaped[/b][/color] rubble, and it somehow came alive. I then found myself on the pathway leading to the front door of my old house. The sun was greying, but regaining luster. Again I stared at the house with a mixture of happiness and utter loneliness. "I don't live here." But I did? My [color=#ff80c0][b]brain[/b][/color] didn't quite know what to do with this one. It was home, but no family was inside...they had gone on, moved away, never to return. The world rapidly changed to [color=orange][b]autumn[/b][/color] before my eyes, and a group of [color=darkred][b]brown-coated humans[/b][/color] who gathered behind me meshed together and formed a castle, with one man's hat in the group morphing into a giant tower in the center of my kingdom, and another man's ruffled jacket forming battlements. The woman in the group became the moat, her hair the beast in the moat. One man's eyebrow I think became the [color=#804000][b]bronze[/b][/color] banner, and the drawbridge lowered. With the world decaying around me, I walked in. Then the next dream happened, or so I think this is a separate dream. I was inside my parents' home, the most recent one, and just realized my Mom was borne of the [color=red][color=black]most[/color] [b]vile evil ever[/b][/color] to incarnate to a mortal shell. She's the most gentle human in real life, so this rocked my foundations like 1906 [color=teal][b]San Francisco[/b][/color]. One of my older brothers knew the secret too, but foolishly called her out on it. In a display that repulses me beyond words, I proceeded to witness my mother removing the flesh from my brother's face like peeling a carrot, and stitching it back together, building her own mask made from human flesh. She [color=mediumturquoise][b]reassembled[/b][/color] my brother's face, but he could not smile, frown, anything. He was waxen! I stared at him, from within my hiding spot, and saw his big eyes, yelling at me to do something about this. To [b][color=purple]destroy my mother[/color][/b] and keep her from doing to others what she did to him! His eyes just kept getting bigger, like helium, or the 'camera' was drifting closer. Then I fell into his eyes like a pit. THE END

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic][color=sienna]"Kung-Fu Hustle" starts out with one gang walking into a police station and walking out again with one of their wives who had been accused of spitting. Once they are outside of the police station, another gang, bigger and badder than they… More
  [font=Century Gothic][color=sienna]"Kung-Fu Hustle" starts out with one gang walking into a police station and walking out again with one of their wives who had been accused of spitting. Once they are outside of the police station, another gang, bigger and badder than they are, called the Axe Gang dressed in undertaker chic, comes along...the kind folks of Pig Sty Alley manage to keep out of such wordly concerns until an inept wannabe gangster drags them into this. [/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#a0522d][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#a0522d]"Kung-Fu Hustle" is a wonderfully inventive action movie. Yes, much of it does depend on special effects but they are all put to good use. As with "Shaolin Soccer", Stephen Chow seems to be sympathizing with the common man. "Kung-Fu Hustle" proves that you don't really need arcane philosophy to make a great action movie; just a great sense of fun. If there is a moral here, it is always to pay your landlord/landlady on time.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#a0522d][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=navy]"3-Iron" is your typical story of a young man who rides around on his motorcycle planting take-out circulars on front doors to mark whether or not the occupants are at home. When they are not at home, he stays the night but takes nothing and even tidies up somewhat. Eventually, he comes upon an upper scale dwelling where he thinks he is alone. But he comes upon a young woman who has been abused by her husband. The young man finds a creative use for a golf club.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#000080][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#000080]"3-Iron" is a unique movie. Neither of its protoganists say anything except for one sentence. I think it takes great courage to tell a story with so little dialogue and to have so much trust in the audience to follow the story in this way. Another plus is that it does not follow the usual thriller of the week storyline. I think director Kim Ki Duk is trying to make a statement about the nature of freedom and property. [/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#000080][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=darkslategray]"Welcome Danger" is another silent movie starring Harold Lloyd.(I know there is a version of this movie with some sound. This version is completely silent.) This one is about a botanist heading west to San Francisco and eventually becomes enbroiled in romance and drug smuggling in Chinatown. I found this film to be amusing, although sometimes a little too busy for its own good and not in the league with "Safety Last."[/color][/font]

• Lesley N

  
  Mesmerizing South Korean film about a solitary young man who breaks into peoples houses and briefly lives their lives. Well thats how it starts for the first fifteen minutes, then it becomes a gentle love story, a revenge tale, a philosophy on existence,and a few other things along… More
  Mesmerizing South Korean film about a solitary young man who breaks into peoples houses and briefly lives their lives. Well thats how it starts for the first fifteen minutes, then it becomes a gentle love story, a revenge tale, a philosophy on existence,and a few other things along the way. The two lead characters share exactly three words between them in the whole film which is bliss in this exposition excess talking heads 21st century. A magical watch.

• Laura C

  
  I LOVED this movie! A very unique romance about two people connected by their ghost-like existence. Quietly philosophical. It was mesmerizing.

• Joey N

  
  It starts out intriguingly, but ventures into who-cares territory towards the middle. It ends with a couple of lovely and odd scenes though. Very subtle-the the point that this is much more appreciated than enjoyed.

• Daniel P

  
  <i>'Nothing is what it appears to be.'</i> Wow. See, this is why I love cinema. Every now and then I see a film like this that is so original, so undefinable, so perfect it makes me glad to be alive. This is a beautiful, haunting and stunning film that you… More
  <i>'Nothing is what it appears to be.'</i> Wow. See, this is why I love cinema. Every now and then I see a film like this that is so original, so undefinable, so perfect it makes me glad to be alive. This is a beautiful, haunting and stunning film that you should know as little about as possible before seeing it. A similar starting point to this film is Richard Laymon's book "No Sanctuary", with its theme of someone who quietly breaks into peoples apartments and houses when they are on vacation, but where the book developed into a horror story this film goes in a different direction that I wasn't expecting. With the barest amount of dialogue, exceptional sound design, direction and acting, Kim Ki-Duk has made a film like no other I have seen before, and one I will not forget in a hurry.

• John M

  
  "3-Iron" is a spiritually profound and visually stunning movie with a very unconventional love story between two characters. It is a film with very sparse dialog, the acting is very subtle but the two leads hit very telling notes in their interactions with each other. It all… More
  "3-Iron" is a spiritually profound and visually stunning movie with a very unconventional love story between two characters. It is a film with very sparse dialog, the acting is very subtle but the two leads hit very telling notes in their interactions with each other. It all takes place in a very slow process, but in the end you get a very unique and tender love story.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings