Proud_Canadian

3-Iron/Bin-Jip was directed by Kim Ki-Duk. In the past his films have been quite violent and misogynistic (e.g. Bad Guy) however, with his last two films he has broken into a more plot driven and less violent films. 3-Iron is about a young man is his 20's who drifts through life. He puts up food flyers on people's doors and later goes around and sees which flyers have not been taken down. He then breaks into the home and checks to see the occupants are gone and not coming back soon. He eats some food and crashes at the place and in return he does laundry or fixes a broken appliance. He lives his life on the outskirts of society and is trying to disappear. One day he breaks into a house which he thinks is empty but a woman is there. She has been battered by her husband and is trying to withdraw from the world. She watches him but does not let him see her. Eventually they meet but nothing is said between them. The husband comes home and the protagonist leaves without being noticed. However, he knows that the husband will beat his wife again. He comes back and using the husband's 3-iron incapacitates the husband by hitting golf balls at him. The protagonist and the wife leave and she joins him on his ritual house entering. Eventually they are caught and he is beaten up. Slowly there is a transformation and role reversal with the wife becoming more outspoken and the guy becoming more withdrawn. The police catch them and the wife is returned to the husband. She asserts herself and begins to re-visit the places her and the guy had been in. The guy is sent to prison where he slowly learns how to lose himself in the surrounding so as not to be noticed. It is a slow film with touches of humor and drama. It is definitely different and the main protagonist never speaks in this film and the wife only speaks a little towards the end. For those used to Asian films I would rate it 7/10 for those not used to Asian films 5/10.

I was fortunate to see it at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Hotel Rwanda starred Don Cheadle and was directed by Terry George. It's based on a true event, about Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu who worked at four star hotel in Kigali. When the war broke out he thought of only saving his immediate family but as he saw what was happening he opened the hotel to Tutsi and Hutus seeking refuge from the killing. He used all the favours he had stored as manager of the hotel and basically saved over a thousand lives. This will be the next Schindler's list. When the film was over, there was a standing ovation. Don Cheadle was excellent as an ordinary man forced to do extra-ordinary things. Paul Rusesabagina and his family attended the screening and he received a five minute standing ovation. Even Michael Moore came to see this movie. I highly recommend it. 9/10.