The Bow (2007)

by | Aug 15, 2007 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

The Bow (2007)

Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Studio: Tartan Video TVD 2035
Video: Enhanced for anamorphic 16:9 widescreen, color
Audio: Korean DD 5.1, Korean DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Extras: The Making of The Bow, Photo Gallery, Theatrical trailer
Length: 90 minutes
Rating: ****

Another excellent dramatic film from the director of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…And Spring. A 60-year-old man somehow found a young girl when she was six years old and took her to his boat anchored out in a bay somewhere in South Korea. She is now soon to reach 17 and has never been off the boat.  They live their lives together there and the man supports them by bringing men from the city to fish off the large boat.

The man looks forward with great expectation to the day marked on his calendar when she turns 17 and he expects to marry her. He even crosses off several days at one time to speed things up.  Any fishermen who show the girl any attention – appropriate or not – are likely to get an arrow in their thigh.  The man also uses his archery bow as an ethnic musical instrument, often playing the lovely theme music used in the film.

One day one of the fishermen who come to the boat is a young man who immediately catches the girl’s eye. He returns again with a poster showing that her real parents have searched for her for a decade, and insists the old man let him return her to her parents. She has been introduced to a different world and all will be changed for her, and eventually the old man realizes this for himself as well.

The cinematography is lovely, the acting believable, and the story line keeps you guessing – especially towards the conclusion, when the basic premise (in a way similar to the isolated temple in Spring, Summer...) becomes a springboard for some completely unexpected twists.

 – John Sunier

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