Regarding Kim Ki-deok and his works, the community is almost divided into two camps according to the likes and dislikes. One party calls it real art, while the other party shouts "disgusting", "sick" and "worthless". It is said that the reason for such a situation is that Kim Ki-duk's works are almost always focused on love, vendetta, loneliness or despair, lowliness, and shame. This approach of pushing human nature to the extreme is naturally easy to cause controversy.
However, what strikes me as strange is that, aside from that scene of swallowing a fish hook in "Room of Desire" that tightened my spine, everything from "The Beast", "Under the Erotic Roof" to "Unknown Recipient" , "Shoreline" to "Samaria Girl", "Bad Ruffian" and then "Empty House", "Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter", I have never felt how violent, bold or alternative and bloody Kim Ki-duk is. In my opinion, there are too many movies in Japan and Hong Kong that are far more perverse, even compared to Tsai Ming-liang in Taiwan, Kim Ki-duk is even warmer.
The same goes for Bow. Consistently graceful handling of color and composition, Zhang Yimou's handling in "Hero" is a bit too layman in comparison. As far as Asia is concerned, perhaps only Shunji Iwai can be compared with one; still It is a narrative that is not straightforward but not easy to make people feel unclear, almost a clear expression of a self-taught film language. The arrow shot from out of nowhere and the red blood on the girl's white skirt can almost be seen as the epitome of all of Kim Ki-duk's works. Under the cruel and bloody appearance, there is actually a gentle lingering around the fingers.
I seem to have seen a film review somewhere, asserting that after "Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter", Kim Ki-duk's style will change significantly. But from the point of view of "Bow", it is an unfounded conjecture.
Kim Ki-duk is not destined to be the type of person who lets the plot or characters lead the shots. He always knows one step ahead of how the next narrative will unfold. The whole tone has been decided from the beginning. The result is that his films are always calm, but also lacking in context and psychology. tension on. I believe that for Kim Ki-duk, praise or disagreement is irrelevant. The key issue should be that he already possesses certain qualities of a "master", and he may only be a little short of becoming a real "master".
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