Rautakolmonen (2004)

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

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim

Stars:

Seung-Yun Lee, Hee Jae, Hyuk-ho Kwon

15 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seung-Yun Lee	...	Sun-hwa
Hee Jae	...	Tae-suk
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
Ji-a 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

Storyline

A young drifter enters strangers' houses - and lives - while owners are away. He spends a night or a day squatting in, repaying their unwitting hospitality by doing laundry or small repairs. His life changes when he runs into a beautiful woman in an affluent mansion who is ready to escape her unhappy, abusive marriage.

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Plot Keywords:

abusive husband | motorcycle | golf | drifter | boxer | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

K-11

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics [United States]

Country:

South Korea Japan

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Rautakolmonen

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,084, 1 May 2005

Gross USA:

$241,914

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,965,315

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kim Ki-Duk Film, Cineclick Asia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 84 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

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

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Crazy Credits

A quote showing before the end credits: "It's hard to tell that the world we live in is either a reality or a dream."

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Connections

Featured in Smagsdommerne: Episode #2.15 (2005)

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Soundtracks

Gafsa
Written by Atlas, Reynolds, Adams
Performed by Natacha Atlas

User Reviews

Reality and Dream

The lonely and silent rider Tae-suk (Hee Jae) breaks in empty houses and lives a normal life while the owners are traveling. He does not steal anything and moves from house to house without any loss other than food, and he cleans the houses, provides small repairs or washes some clothes to retribute the hospitality.

When he enters in the house of Sun-hwa (Seung-yeon Lee), he does not see the woman that is wounded in her room after being beaten up on by her abusive husband Min-gyu Lee (Hyuk-ho Kwon). Tae-suk helps the hurt woman and when Min-gyu returns, he hits the husband with golf balls and Sun-hwa leaves her husband with Tae-suk in his motorcycle.

When they break in the house of an old man, they find that the man is dead and Tae-suk provides funeral service for him. However, his son returns and Tae-suk and Sun-hwa are arrested by two abusive police detectives. He is sent to prison and Sun-hwa is forced to return home. But she never forgets him.

"Bin-jip" is a subtle film about a lonely drifter and an abused wife that finds love, empathy and human warmth with him. The story is open to interpretation and here is mine (it is a spoiler – therefore if you have not watched the film yet, do not read):

Tae-suk is murdered by the prison guards when he leaves his cell, and Min-gyu Lee receives a phone call from the police telling that the youngster had been released as a sort of justification for his disappearance. Sun-hwa lives with the "ghost" of the free-spirited Tae-suk as a way to help her to survive to his marriage life.

Maybe I am too simplistic, but that is the way that I have understood this pleasant film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Casa Vazia" ("Empty House")