Review of Bow, The

Introduction

The further away you get from the mainstream, the more rewarding a film can be. Fresh, original ideas, unique directorial visions, and offbeat experimentation can on occasion provide a breathtaking experience. I have found though, that diving straight into an innovative director`s masterwork can be a little challenging, and trying out a more mainstream effort first can be a useful stepping-stone. Korean director Kim Ki-Duk is one of that nation`s most acclaimed and eclectic of directors, surfing the Far-Eastern New Wave that has so far taken the West by storm. For my first Kim Ki-Duk film I get to review The Bow, a film set entirely on a small boat in the middle of the ocean, and a film in which the main characters never speak a word of dialogue. So much for my stepping-stone theory.

An old man lives on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a young girl that he has raised as a foundling. They make their living by hosting fishing excursions from the mainland, as well as telling fortunes. The girl sits on a swing hanging off the side of the boat, and swings past the image of a Buddha. The old man shoots arrows past her into the image and where they hit determines the fortune that she tells. She has been with him on the boat since the age of six, and he has been counting down the days until she turns seventeen so that he can marry her. Their life is idyllic, and all they have to worry about are lecherous businessmen who are quickly fended off with a well-aimed arrow. But all that changes when a young student comes on a fishing trip with his father and catches the young girl`s eye.

Video

The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer from Tartan is acceptable if unremarkable. The image is clear for the most part and exhibits slight grain throughout. It looks like a native PAL transfer though, so softness is very slight and there is none of the motion blur associated with NTSC-PAL conversions. Darker scenes are still a little indistinct, and I did notice odd moments of haloing, but by and large the transfer does justice to the languid direction and charming colour scheme.

Audio

You have a choice of DD 5.1, DD 2.0 and DTS Korean, with optional English subtitles. As mentioned, the main characters never speak, only the visitors who arrive on their fishing trips, so dialogue isn`t as much of a priority. Also this isn`t an action film requiring a powerful sound design. Instead, The Bow is understated and subtle with its use of effects, and the most noticeable aspect of the sound is the excellent music soundtrack. The bow can be a musical instrument as well as a weapon, and that results in beautiful, moody and haunting tunes that suit the gentle pace of the film perfectly.

Features

These things wouldn`t be complete without an original Theatrical Trailer, but there are also trailers here for other Kim Ki-Duk films, including, Bad Guy, The Coastguard, and Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.

More substantial is the Behind The Scenes featurette, which lasts 41 minutes. As with most Korean film featurettes, it`s a fly on the wall documentary, following the film crew and the actors on the shoot, with no convenient voiceover to fill in the context. It`s very much b-roll footage, but the cameraman does pause in his detached objectivity once in a while to get an actor`s opinion. One thing to note is the almost constant presence of wind noise, which goes some way towards explaining the paucity of dialogue in the final film. It certainly saves on ADR costs.

Conclusion

The Bow is a fairy tale for grown ups, a magical ninety minutes that it is easy to lose oneself in. It certainly doesn`t hurt that there is hardly any dialogue. The itinerant fisherman who pass by provide what little exposition the film needs, while the student whose arrival alters the dynamic between the old man and the girl serves as observer and in some ways the audience`s voice when it comes to the odd relationship. The old man and the girl carry the emotional weight of the story, and they never speak. It`s through sympathetic performances, and the direction that the story is put across, and in that respect, the subtitles are almost unnecessary, making this truly an international film.

It`s a prurient sort of relationship at first glance. The idea of an old man finding and raising a girl to eventually become his bride will no doubt raise the hackles of many, and inspire the ire of countless Daily Mail journalists. But the relationship that is presented is charming and chaste. If he is counting down the days to their wedding, it`s hardly as disgusting as tabloids that count down the days until a teen starlet becomes `legal`. In fact the relationship seems very much a father daughter dynamic. The girl begins to get an inkling otherwise when he starts buying clothes for their impending wedding, and it`s really only when the student arrives that she understands what her life entails, and what alternatives she will be giving up. But then it also becomes clear how much affection she has for the old man, and she is conflicted by her own desires.

Through it all, the bow offers a constant visual motif, whether it is as weapon, musical instrument, or fortune telling device. It offers a way for the characters to express their inner feelings, of trust, anger, frustration, indecision. In it is much of the magic of the story, and as such is an integral part of the film`s climax.

The Bow is also a visual feast. The look of the film is intoxicating, as the measured pace of the direction draws you in. The attention to detail is sublime, and it`s surprising how appealing a battered and run down boat can look. Even the faded and pockmarked visage of a Buddha on the side of the boat can look charming when there is a young girl with ribbons tied to her wrists swinging in front of it in slow motion, as arrows whiz past her face. The production design is noteworthy, with everything on the boat constructed with care and consistency. I love the way that there is a collection of multicoloured, beat up armchairs arrayed around the deck for the use of the fisherman. It`s also small things that point to thoughtfulness on the part of the filmmakers, like the constant bruises on the girl`s legs, indicative of life on the ocean wave.

The disc may be average but the film most certainly isn`t. Its slow paced, gentle story is deceptively charming, and before I knew it I was hooked by its simple but magical tale. Don`t worry if you`re put off foreign cinema because of subtitles, as there are hardly any here to pull your attention away from the visual treats the film has to offer. If you are looking for something a little different to place in your DVD tray, then The Bow is just what the doctor ordered.