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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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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM

Cinema Crazed

N/R

Devin Faraci

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 27 2009 03:16 AM

CHUD

N/R

David Jenkins

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 16 2007 03:16 AM

Time Out New York

tomato
2.5/5

Anton Bitel

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 02 2007 05:33 AM

Eye for Film

tomato

David Noh

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 01 2007 03:54 AM

Film Journal International

tomato
4/5

Enrique Buchichio

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: | comment 1 Comment | Nov., 24 2006 02:07 PM

Uruguay Total

tomato
8/10

Jean-François Vandeuren

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 04 2006 12:10 PM

Panorama

tomato
3.5/5

Joseph Proimakis

...μεθυστικοί ρυθμοί και εκκωφαντικές σιωπές...

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 30 2006 12:34 PM

Movies for the Masses

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 11 2006 03:15 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

tomato

Urban Cinefile Critics

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: | comment Comment | Aug., 11 2006 01:09 AM

Urban Cinefile

N/R

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 26 2006 03:17 AM

Combustible Celluloid

tomato
3/5

Jules Brenner

surreal

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 20 2006 03:17 PM

Filmcritic.com

tomato
A-

Dennis Schwartz

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 03 2006 06:44 PM

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

tomato
8/10

Jeffrey Chen

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 02 2006 09:55 AM

Window to the Movies

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 26 2005 03:15 AM

AV Club

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 30 2005 03:15 AM

Hollywood Reporter

tomato
3/5

Steve O'Hagan

An engrossing, if demandingly obscure, watch.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 15 2005 03:17 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
3/4

Rob Thomas

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2005 08:47 AM

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2005 03:17 AM

Time Out

tomato
3/5

Jamie Woolley

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 12 2005 03:16 AM

BBC

 
 
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