Bin-jip (2004)

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim (written by)

Release Date:

15 October 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.

Plot Keywords:

Drifter | Escape | Marriage | Loveless Marriage | Abusive Husband

Awards:

7 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Seung-yeon Lee	...	Sun-hwa
Hyun-kyoon Lee	...	Tae-suk (as Hee Jae)
Hyuk-ho Kwon	...	Min-gyu (husband)
Jeong-ho Choi	...	Jailor
Ju-seok Lee	...	Son of Old Man
Mi-suk Lee	...	Daughter-in-law of Old Man
Sung-hyuk Moon	...	Sung-hyuk
Jee-ah Park	...	Jee-ah
Jae-yong Jang	...	Hyun-soo
Dah-hae Lee	...	Ji-eun
Han Kim	...	Man in Studio
Se-jin Park	...	Woman in Studio
Dong-jin Park	...	Detective Lee
Jong-su Lee	...	Man who Came Back from Family Trip
Ui-soo Lee	...	Woman who Came Back from Family Trip
Jong-hwa Ryoo	...	Boy who Came Back from Family Trip
Sung-hoon Kang	...	Boyfriend of Girl who Got Hit by Golf Ball
Sung-hoon Jung	...	Prisoner 1
Ji-yong Jang	...	Prisoner 2
Maeng-sung Kim	...	Prisoner 3
Hoon Jang	...	Guy Who Stares
Seok-bin Jang	...	CIS Team 1
Hyung-suk Kim	...	CIS Team 2
Tae-suk Shin	...	Policeman 1
Hong-suk Lee	...	Policeman 2
Nam-min Park	...	Policeman 4

Directed by
Ki-duk Kim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ki-duk Kim		written by

Produced by
Yong-bae Choi	....	co-executive producer
Ki-duk Kim	....	producer
Youngjoo Suh	....	co-producer
Michiko Suzuki	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Slvian

Cinematography by
Seong-back Jang

Film Editing by
Ki-duk Kim

Production Design by
Chungsol Art

Sound Department
Jin-wook Jung	....	sound

Production Companies

• Kim Ki-Duk Film
• Cineclick Asia

Distributors

• Chungeorahm Film (2004) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Eurofilms (2007) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Bir Film (2005) (Turkey) (all media)
• Dolmen Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Pandora Filmproduktion (2005) (Germany) (all media)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chungeorahm Film  presented by
• HFR  dailies
• ProCam  camera and lighting equipment supplied by

Also Known As:

"3-Iron" - Canada (English title), International (English title), UK, USA
"Bin jib" - South Korea (alternative transliteration)
"Empty Houses" - (literal English title)
"El espíritu de la pasión" - Mexico, Peru
"Locataires" - Canada (French title) (TV title), France
"Пустой дом" - Russia
"Bin-Jip - Der Schattenmann" - Germany (TV title)
"Bin-Jip - Leere Häuser" - Germany (DVD title)
"Bin-jip - tomme huse" - Denmark
"Bos ev" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Casa Vazia" - Brazil (literal title)
"Ferro 3" - Portugal
"Ferro 3 - La casa vuota" - Italy
"Hierro 3" - Spain
"Järn 3:an" - Sweden
"Järntrean" - Sweden
"Lehargish B'Bayit" - Israel (Hebrew title)
"Lopakodó lelkek" - Hungary
"Olomonahoi mazi" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Pusty dom" - Poland
"Rautakolmonen" - Finland
"Tomme hus" - Norway

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content

Runtime:

88 min | Turkey:84 min (TV version)

Country:

South Korea | Japan

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Sweden:11 | Spain:13 | Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Hungary:14 | South Korea:15 | France:U | Mexico:B15 | Australia:M | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Denmark:11 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Brazil:16

Company:

Kim Ki-Duk Film

Trivia:

Director Kim ki-Duk wrote the screenplay of the movie in one month, the movie was filmed in 16 days and the film editing was done in 10 days.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: His boxer-type BMW motorcycle, which has two cylinders, is dubbed with the sound of a four cylinder engine.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shi gan (2006)

Soundtrack:

Gafsa

A beautiful movie

To me it's been obvious for quite some time now that South Korea is by far the most interesting country in Asia when it comes to film. And Asia on the other hand feels like the most interesting continent, so where does that leave us?

"Bin-Jip" (or "3-iron") is a wonderful movie. I went to see it without really knowing what to expect. I must admit that even though South Korean films appeal to me my expectations were quite low, not least because the movie was described in a way that was vague to say the least. But after watching it... it all made sense. Because how do you describe a movie like this one? It moves somewhere in the shadow-land between reality and fantasy. One of those movies that has very little plot to it but still comes across as beautifully written. And above all things it made me feel good!

The closest reference i can find to how this movie made me feel is "Lost in Translation". Don't get me wrong, the movies are not very alike. But the feeling they gave me is the same. When i watched these movies for the first time i felt like i didn't really know what i was i just saw. I only knew that i liked it and it made me feel good. A warm sensation in my gut telling me that maybe there is hope after all. Hope for what? I don't know, life maybe?

In the end the 3-iron, the golf-balls and the surface are not important. What's important is life, love and warmth. This is a beautiful movie, both on the surface and beneath it. It is also a truly unique movie experience and i don't get to say that very often. Highly recommended and definitely one of the best i've seen so far this year.

9/10