Kim Ki-duk’s 3-Iron And Its Haunting Silence

In a lot of ways, Richard Linklater and Kim Ki-duk stand on two ends of a cinematic experience. Two prolific filmmakers, exploring similar themes, and yet poles apart from each other. One relies completely on the medium of dialogues while the other needs nothing but visually engaging performances from his actors. The rest of the job is done by the silence accompanying the characters. And this silence is not eerie or haunting or even uncomfortable, but rather this silence is like watching a river peacefully pass you by or listening to the meditating chants of Buddhist monks or even witnessing a deer giving birth.

3-Iron is about a wanderer whose only possession is a bike. He breaks into the houses which are temporarily uninhabited and makes himself comfortable for a short while. But he doesn't take the place for granted. And he is not a thief either. To express his gratitude, he washes the dirty laundry, waters the plants and fixes some damaged items in the house. It is as if he knows what it feels like to be lonely and alone, and thus provides the empty houses some much-needed companionship. The empty houses, in return, provide him with a roof and something to eat for a few days. But, one day, while breaking into one such empty house and going on about his regular way of living, he encounters a beaten-up wife of a rich abusive husband. She falls in love with his way of living and he falls in love with her entire existence. Now, the empty houses have not one but two loving companions.

But their sweet rendezvous doesn't last for very long; in one of the houses, they come across a dead body and are charged with the murder of the man. The woman is sent back to her abusive husband while the man goes to prison. While in the prison, it is revealed that the man is not merely a wanderer. He is also a ghost, a self-trained one. And thus, he is released from jail. The woman knows that the man will come back for her and waits for him every day. And one day, he shows up but remains in the shadow of her abusive husband.

While looking at the poster, one might misunderstand the movie for an erotic threesome. But only after watching it do you realise that it does nothing of the sort. The movie explores the theme of love through the medium of silence but turns into a fantasy fiction when it blurs the fine line between reality and dream. There have been many movies showing nomadic ways of living life but Kim Ki-duk's 3-Iron tops that genre. It shows that even in the hustle and bustle of the city, you can live a life of a nomad. All you need is a bike, some empty houses and a toolbox to open locks.

But what I really loved about 3-Iron was how beautifully it played out the intimate relationship between the two lead characters without ever using obvious means of communication. Never in the entire movie does the man utter a word and only, in the end, does the woman speak less than a mouthful. We see great movies with great dialogues but rarely do we see great movies with no dialogues. What a rare experience: to hear nothing and still be able to listen to everything.