critics consensus

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

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3-Iron Photos

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Movie Info

Tae-suk (Hee Jae) is a lonely drifter who spends his nights in one empty vacation home after another. However, Tae-suk is not your usual squatter, as the courteous young man always makes sure to show his absent -- and unknowing -- hosts his gratitude by doing small household tasks or making simple improvements before moving on. One day, Tae-suk mistakes a quiet home for an empty one and stumbles across an abused housewife (Seung-yeon Lee) in urgent need of his intervention.

Rating:

R (Some Sexual Content)
Genre:

drama, romance
Original Language:

Korean
Director:

Ki-duk Kim
Producer:

Ki-duk Kim
Writer:

Ki-duk Kim
Release Date (Streaming):

Jan 2, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA):

$238.5K
Runtime:

1h 27m
Production Co:

Kim Ki-Duk Film, Cineclick Asia
Aspect Ratio:

Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Seung-yeon Lee
Sun-hwa

Hee Jae
Tae-suk

Hyuk-ho Kwon
Min-gyu

Ju Jin-mo

Choi Jeong-ho
Jailor

Lee Ju-suk
Son of Old Man

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Critic Reviews for 3-Iron

All Critics (92) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (80) | Rotten (12)

An engrossing, if demandingly obscure, watch.

July 15, 2005 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

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

July 12, 2005 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Jamie Woolley
BBC.com
What is so engaging about the film is the way its director, Ki-duk Kim, manages to keep our interest intensely focused on the couple.

June 16, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5

Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
Quote not available.

June 4, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
A movie meant to be taken on faith more than anything else. The more you can grant it, the greater the reward.

June 4, 2005 | Rating: B

Eleanor Ringel Cater
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the most part they achieve a delicate balancing act, mixing near-silent comedy with an old-fashioned sense of whimsy.

May 27, 2005 | Rating: 3/4

John Hartl
Seattle Times
Oddly, 3-Iron is a violent yet serene meditation on the transitory nature of human existence. A work of genuine poetry, it's a cinematic hole in one.

April 25, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Eddie Harrison
The List
Evanescence is the movie's most distinguishing characteristic.

September 1, 2013 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
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.

July 2, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Eye for Film
Beautifully staged an performed, a sly wit with the camera work, an almost silent presentation of a lovely story.

June 21, 2007 | Rating: A+ | Full Review…

Jason Gorber
Film Scouts
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.

March 1, 2007 | Full Review…

David Noh
Film Journal International
Lo mejor de esta fascinante y extraa pelcula es todo lo que dispara en el espectador en su intento por encontrarle un significado.

November 24, 2006 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

View All Critic Reviews (92)

Audience Reviews for 3-Iron

Oct 07, 2013

I cannot get this thing out of my head. Lovely and subtly horrific.

Kevin C Super Reviewer
Nov 30, 2012

Taking homage from directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle, Kim Ki Duk creates a silent story of romance and life. Ambitious as it is ambiguous, 3-Iron is a melancholy tale that asks its audience to think differently.

paul o Super Reviewer
Sep 28, 2011

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.

Wahida K Super Reviewer
Aug 27, 2011

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.

Fernando Rafael Q Super Reviewer