Cast: Jae Hee - Tae Suk
Lee Seung Yeon - Sun Hwa
Hyuk-ho Kwon - Min-gyu
Director: Kim Ki Duk
He doesn't utter a word, but his eyes speak volumes. The moment Tae-Suk (Jae Hee) appears on screen, one gets curious to know about this young guy. The queer, unfathomable look on his face add a bit of mystery to his personality and immediately the viewers get hooked on to the plot; tagging along with Tae-Suk in his sojourn.
Tae Suk moves like a spirit. He is homeless but roams around on a cool bike. He distributes takeout menus during the day, which he tapes over the keyholes of peoples' front door. In the evenings, he returns to break into the houses that haven't removed the menus, presuming them to be empty.
It is interesting to note the way Tae Suk spends a night or a day in their empty houses, polishes off the food in their refrigerators, sleeps in their master bedroom and even watches TV.
But mind you, Tae Suk is not a thief. He wouldn't take this unwitting hospitality for free. He repays by washing their clothes or doing small maintenance jobs. Tae-Suk is a perfectionist, an artiste. The concentration with which he repairs a broken watch or a child's toy makes you wonder what the boy is actually up to.
But as they say, nothing lasts forever. Life takes a completely different turn for Tae Suk as he enters a beautiful bungalow one day. For a change, someone else follows him like a shadow. It was then he meets an abused married woman Sun-hwa (Seung-yeon Lee). The two enter a game of silence, gradually acknowledging each other's existence and thus falling in love.
One of noted Korean filmmaker Kim Ki Duk's masterpieces, 3-Iron keeps you on the edge with its gripping plot. The film doesn't lose pace at any point in time. The lead performers are so brilliant that never for once you realise the protagonists don't have dialogues till the end.
Carefree he may seem, Tae Suk has his emotions right in place. We know exactly when he is angry, frustrated, caring or happy for that matter. His attachment to a 3-Iron golf club, which he picks up for the first time from Sun-hwa's bungalow, plays a significant role in his mode of expression. First, he uses this club to bash Sun-hwa's husband. Later we see him tying a golf ball to a wire, and hitting it around a tree to expresses his exasperation. His brighter side comes across in the scenes where he cuts Sun-hwa's hair or makes food for her.
It is indeed difficult to point which of the two actors is better in the film. The way Sun-hwa follows Tae Suk in the house, confronts him and later walks out on her monstrous husband leaves us stunned.
Kim Ki-Duk sets his own rule. The way he frames each shot without missing a single detail is commendable. The perfect balance between the emotional element in the story and the artistic is what makes 3-Iron an outstanding composition.
Perhaps the only thing that seems out of place is Tae Suk's swanky bike. Given the scenario, it seems little impossible for a homeless person to afford it. But of course, we can ignore the glitch. Can't we?!
VERDICT: A must watch, you are sure to fall in love with Tae Suk and Sun-hwa.
Rating: 4.5/5
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