The Bow from Tartan in August
17 July 2007

One of the 2004's real cinematic pleasures was the UK cinema release of Kim Ki-duk's quietly gorgeous Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring (Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom), a story of a young monk's apprenticeship that develops into a series of hard life lessons. Its small scale success in the UK should have ensured a release for all of Kim's subsequent work but it hasn't been the case. certainly there's been no cinema release yet for his 2005 The Bow (Hwal), but that's where DVD and Tartan Video step in.

An old man has been raising a young girl since she was a baby. Living on the coast in his boat, they live a relatively simple life, hiring the boat to fisherman as well as telling fortunes using a bow and arrow. They also plan to marry when she reaches her 17th birthday. But she's 16 now, and when a young teenager joins them on a trip, it awakens deeper feelings of desire and jealousy. Newly rising passions threaten to upset and destroy their previously undisturbed harmony. Can the old man retain his control or will she assert her own identity?

Drawing on themes from his earlier movies, Kim explores with The Bow the bonds of human nature by once again placing his characters in relative isolation that is disrupted by elements from outside, and once again employing minimal dialogue. A stylish and compelling allegorical fable with creeping sense of claustrophobic tension, starring Yeo-reum Han, who also featured in Kim Ki-duk's Samaria the previous year.

The Bow will be released on UK DVD by Tartan Video on 13th August 2007 with an anamorphic widescreen picture and optional Dolby stereo 2.0, Dolby surround 5.1 and DTS surround 5.1 soundtracks. the only extra feature confirmed so far is a trailer. The RRP is £19.99.