The Bow Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

Yeah! Really.

When are people going to stop praising movies simply to appear fashionable, open-minded or politically correct?

This was absolute rubbish reminiscent of the efforts of a local amateur group. How can anyone possibly rate this highly compared to the cimematic genius catalogued over the years and available on this site.

Tell the truth and, in doing so, stop misleading other members that they waste time and money.

The Tartan studio is responsible for some excellent films. This is most definitely not one of them.

The final nail in my Kim Ki-Duk viewing coffin...?

Now, I'm no fool and know that Kim Ki-Duk's films are never an easy ride. More often than not, it takes a bit of effort to get something out of it in the end.

The time has come, though, to give up the ghost. 3-Iron was fantastic and Bad Guy and Spring, Summer... was great. The Coastguard, Samaritan Girl, The Isle, Address Unknown teetered on the edge of pointlessness and Real Fiction was truly awful.

The Bow was typically beautifully shot and there was enough latent symbolism to be engaging. However, moving, insightful and affecting cinema shouldn't be this much hard work. Nor should it leave such a bad taste in the mouth.

Having read some earlier reviews and synopses, I was expecting a throughly disturbing and morally questionable finale. Perhaps I have become de-sensitised, but I didn't find the final scenes all that troublesome. They were merely weak.

On the positive side, Han Yeo-Reum is stunning and almost makes up for the mercifully short 88 minutes of my life that I can't get back.

Having said all of this, I'm sure I'll forget everything I've said and just go ahead and watch everything else Kim churns out in the hope he recaptures some of his earlier glory.