The Bow (2005) Hwal (original title)

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim

Release Date:

12 May 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A girl who thought the sea was the whole world became the whole world to one old man.

Plot:

On a fishing boat at sea, a 60-year old man has been raising a girl since she was a baby. It is agreed that they will get married on her 17th birthday, and she is 16 now. They live a quiet and secluded life, renting the boat to day fishermen and practicing strange divination rites. Their life changes when a teenage student comes aboard...

Plot Keywords:

Boat | Fishing | Sea | Old Man | Swing

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Yeo-reum Han	...	The young girl (as Han Yeo-reum)
Si-jeok Seo	...	The student
Gook-hwan Jeon	...	The student's father
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Seong-hwang Jeon	...	Old Man (no name)
Seok-hyeon Jo	...	Third Man

Directed by
Ki-duk Kim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ki-duk Kim

Produced by
Yong-gyu Kang	....	co-producer
Ki-duk Kim	....	producer
Michiko Suzuki	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Eun-il Kang

Cinematography by
Seong-back Jang

Film Editing by
Ki-duk Kim

Production Design by
Sol Art Chung

Costume Design by
Kyung-mi Kim

Makeup Department
Ki-sun Kim	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Seok-bin Jang	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hun Jang	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Hyun-soo Jeung	....	sound

Music Department
Eun-il Kang	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Joyce Kirkconnell	....	driver

Production Companies

• Happinet Pictures
• Kim Ki-Duk Film

Distributors

• 1More Film (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2005-2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Happinet (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• TFM Distribution (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Alfa Films (2006) (Argentina) (all media)
• Bir Film (2005) (Turkey) (all media)
• Dolmen Home Video (2006) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2008) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• HFR  dailies

Also Known As:

"Hwal" - South Korea (original title)

Runtime:

France:90 min | Canada:88 min (Montréal Film Festival) | Argentina:90 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

South Korea | Japan

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Hungary:14 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Mexico:B15 | France:U | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Company:

Happinet Pictures

Yin and yang inside a Rubik's cube

Whenever I watch a movie by Kim Ki-duk (with the exception of "Bom yeoreum gaeul...", which I enjoy much more than the rest), I have an unpleasant impression that this man's mental world is sort of puerile ; instead of a mature work of art I see an étude made by an intriguing youngster. In "Hwal" the director, not unlike a child with a Rubik's cube in hand, plays with rituals, symbols and colours slick just as the Euro-Korean score of this minimalist fable about an old man and a little girl, selfishness and ruthlessness of both old age and youth in the cyclic stream of life, and about how to conjure a feeble ending out of it all. Whether some deeper truths about yin and yang and other stuff reside inside the cube, Kim knows. Perhaps.