He's done it again. Imagine this: you go to the cinema to see a foreign language film. You're all set for an evening of hurried reading of subtitles, loss in translation and regret for not speaking every language in this world. And then you watch 3-iron, a film almost without dialogue, and you hardly notice. Well, to be fair, it is noticeable, but not as a lack, but an asset. Kim Ki-Duk easily floats through a purely visual storytelling mode, with beautiful imagery, space for character development and a confidence which is rare in today's cinema. The effect on  the viewer even without any knowledge of Korea, is one of  relaxation and full engagement with the film. Leave behind the worry of missing out on the image while reading subtitles, and simply enjoy the spiritual truth that emanates from every minute of this film.

It is an extraordinary story in an ordinary, urban context and set almost in an opposing place compared to his earlier Spring Summer Autumn Winter ... and Spring. Yet the similarities between the films are stronger than the apparent difference. Both follow almost dialogueless the development of two main, interacting characters. Their relationship and interaction is the focus of the film, not their individuality. It's about development, change, but also about connections made in a disjointed world. In this relationship, the characters find spirituality and meaning which they previously found absent in their lives. As a matter of principle, Kim Ki-Duk pays meticulous attention to detail, thus transcending the literal meaning of the image into a higher, spiritual and metaphorical sphere. This attention to detail allows a story to be told with minimal, yet all powerful, means. Not a single shot is without meaning.

Within the world of a burglar who doesn't steal, a battered and despaired wife who discovers life, strange things can happen, dreams can come true, and disaster can strike without warning or reason. All that is stable is the chance meeting of the two and the relationship and connectedness that evolves and is stronger than any other force. It all could be just a dream, just ghosts wandering an unreal world, but it can also be more real than what is commonly labelled reality. The film, the spirituality, transcends all these labels into a sphere of absolute truth. It is clearly not a European/American film, the confidence with which the director touches transcendental ideas is beyond the pale of current Western cinema. This is exactly why Eastern cinema, and in particular Korean cinema, has so much to offer the Western eye.

This is not to say that Kim Ki-Duk's films are easily digested. There are moment of severe physical and emotional violence, and the lack of speach of the characters is an indication of their suffering which has rendered them unable to communicate in a conventional way. Instead, they invent their own language of behavious, action, gestures and facial expressions. His protagonists are at the margins of society, and have disengaged with society to a great extent. Yet we are allowed to engage with them and suffer with them through torment and moments of happiness. A deep understanding, respect and empathy is thus created. A meditation in filmic form, which leads to a hightened understanding of what it is to be human.

The gender politics can be criticised as not politically correct. Eventually, the only escape from her wretched existence as battered, owned wife is presented as a dream she is happy to play along with. It is not my place to defend his film, only to say that they aren't about realism but transcendence of it. Symbolism, with it's potential for creating a different level of understanding, has often enough been misunderstood. Here a symbol of transcendence is created, which of course isn't real, just as the story of the film isn't real. It's a parable, which transcends any real story and tells a more universal story. It does not invite patient endurance of abuse by women, but presents an empowered woman who is clearly superior in character and intelligence to her battering husband. Her only words "I love you" are a clear mockery of her husband, and his inability to understand this leaves an image of male idocy which is a form of retaliation for the suffering he causes. It is not a real escape from this suffering by a real woman, but a symbolic escape in a fictional world.

Watch, be enlightened, spiritually hightened and live. Let the spirit transcend the ugliness of violence, disrespect and hatred. The place for happiness is within each person, and the search for it is universal, as is the existence of violence.