The Bow

The Bow (Hwal), 2005

South Korea / Japan, 35mm, Color, 90’, Korean

Director: Kim ki-duk

Cast:Yeo-reum Han, Si-jeok Seo, Gook-hwan Jeon

The Bow tells the story of a 60-year old man who lives on a boat in the middle of the ocean and has been raising a young girl since she was a child. The twosome live secluded from the outside world and earn their living by renting the boat to fishermen and predicting fortune by shooting arrows. The boat and vast sea mean everything to the young girl; the fisherman watches over her in a fatherly manner, takes care of her, and buys her presents for the day they will get married. With sage-like patience, the man dreams of marrying her, as he waits for the girl to turn 18.When a young boy steals her heart, however, things do not go as planned. Touchingupon morality, love, passion, attachment, and killing, the story wends its way toward a mystical ending.

The Bow tells the story of a 60-year old man who lives on a boat in the middle of the ocean and has been raising a young girl since she was a child. The twosome live secluded from the outside world and earn their living by renting the boat to fishermen and predicting fortune by shooting arrows. The boat and vast sea mean everything to the young girl; the fisherman watches over her in a fatherly manner, takes care of her, and buys her presents for the day they will get married. With sage-like patience, the man dreams of marrying her, as he waits for the girl to turn 18.When a young boy steals her heart, however, things do not go as planned. Touchingupon morality, love, passion, attachment, and killing, the story wends its way toward a mystical ending.