Time

Kim Ki Duk's film Shigan/Time is about the concept of beauty which differs from person to person.He has built his film around a couple of young,violent lovers whose whimsical behavior reveal hotheadedness prevailing in South Korean society.Much of the film tries to find out why people especially youngsters start to get bored in relationships ? Although Shigan/Time concentrates its energies by depicting various procedures used to beautify ordinary looking people,it loses no time to convey that real beauty lies in one's heart.We get a clear message that inner beauty is important than a person's external appearance.Kim Ki Duk also suggests that boredom is not entirely a curious phenomenon related to affluent nations as this malaise of western world has already started to rear its ugly head in new developed nations too such as South Korea.It is a pity that not much is known about Kim Di Duk's motivation for making such an inspirational film.However,one can hazard a fortuitous guess that Kim Di Duk made this film due to an old incident of his reckless wild life when he was rejected by some girl.

Ki-duk Kim is one of my favorite filmmakers. He seems to always stick to his vision and, I suspect, enjoys going against the very grain of where he is expected to go. It is my opinion that he takes audiences to "places" in Korean culture that other Korean filmmakers dare not go. I had been waiting to see this film on the screen but the opportunity has yet to come. I was thrilled when a pal sent me the just released DVD.

Ki-duk Kim's work is surreal, socio-political and melo-dramatic all at once. This can be an uncomfortable combination. I find that there is often a dark comedic element at work in his films which makes it all the more uncomfortable. In fact, I often wonder if the "comedy" I find is intended. As a viewer, I don't care. I find his work endlessly interesting and unforgettable.

This is not his finest work. It is, however, a visually stunning work. At it's heart are two central ideas playing off each other: the 21st century obsession with plastic surgery and the obsessive quality of love/devotion. The film is filled with character insecurity and the neurotic. The surreal set up for this film is also a bit too confused. However, I would urge anyone interested in his work or the films that are coming out of Asis to seek this film out.

There has been criticism of the theatrics of the performers. While I understand this issue I feel the actors give exactly what Kim was after. The pitch of the performances match the over-the-top story line.

This is an intellectual film. I think what I love the most is the fact that it is visually intellectual vs. plot driven intellectual. I am not sure I managed to get that idea out, but I hope whoever reads this understands what I am trying to articulate.

Hope you have read the official story line.

I was intrigued by that and since we are all so used to so many of the Hollywood style movies and also because of the relatively low 7.2 rating here at IMDb I was expecting it to be a mediocre merry go round, boy was I wrong! This is a weird movie, and instead of putting us off it makes us think, think really hard. Very strangely, this movie, unlike other movies is always showing us a certain third party perspective (normally Hollywood tries to do just the opposite to make us empathize with the character), and its this that makes us 'think'.

And I came off thinking:

* Our lives are too good, and because its too good we do things to make it complicated, we basically imagine up things, and we ourselves create problems which we then try so hard to solve.

* Only if we had left things as it was.

* Aren't we being just plain greedy.

If you have liked movies like Tokyo Story, Still Walking, etc., yes please check out this movie.

Thank you for reading. :-).

Cheers!

Many Koreans hate the fact that Kim Ki Duk is still able to produce movies in Korea. There were many people boycotting this film in Korea, many saying that he is a very pessimistic human being, touching up on all the dirty things about Korea.

I myself finally got the chance to watch this. Watching all of Kim Ki Duk's film so far, I believed that this was definitely much more colorful in a sense. The story was very relative towards the Korean population. With plastic surgery becoming just a new hobby in Korea, Kim Ki Duk, goes in depth with the theme. The cinematography was great. Personally, it was my favorite film by him so far, before this it's been Bad Guy and Address Unknown but, Time delivered it to me. It kept me glued to my seat the entire time. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

If people enjoy the movies made by Mr. Kim Ki Duk. you won't regret this one either.

Kim Ki-Duk's latest movie deals with a story set in metropolitan environment. The main characters are fully aware of the speed with which the city breathes and the crowds of people that pass; they attempt to fight time, develop recognizable identities, yet still feel lost in the big place. These thoughts lead the woman character (played by Seong Hyeon-a) to a conclusion that the only way to keep her lover is to not tire the relationship; and for such it is necessary that she undergoes plastic surgery. Her lover doesn't know that; he's forced to live six months without any idea where she's gone to, if she's alive, whether she's dumped him or not and most importantly, if he should keep his heart open to her love and possibly hope for her comeback.

These are heartbreaking moments, but surprisingly the Czech audience took them rather easily; most repeatedly laughed at scenes which are funny, but at the same time raise important question and, for my taste, require much attention paid.

During the six months in which the woman's face is fixing up, the movie centers around her lover and the life he's attempting to live; at that time the movie is floating endlessly, introducing new characters (if I'm not mistaken, all played by the same great actress). It is entertaining but at the same time includes thoughts revolving around existence, recognition, individuality and similar. Eventually both ends meet, with funny yet consequent twist at the end.

Similarly to one of the author's previous movie, 3-Iron, the movie feels like a soft ballad; shots composed with a beautiful sense for color, reflections and composition, but also shaky-cam feeling whenever necessary. Although "Time" is set in a huge city, places are revisited again and memorized on photos, as are the characters. Unusually for Kim Ki-Duk, there is also lots of dialogue included; fortunately enough not only does that not wear out but it's often pretty entertaining.

Summed up, "Time" was a beautiful experience, a movie that completely carried me away. If you're planning on seeing it, do not underestimate the somewhat light appearance; it deals with very important issues, and it deals with them thoroughly. Pay attention and you'll be rewarded big time.