A Beautiful Film

Kim-Ki Duk is an extremely talented director. This film uses very little dialog and long, drawn out shots. The result is that it leaves a lot of "space" for the viewer. It feels more like you are watching real life events that just happen to fall perfectly in place, rather than a scripted story. It seems that people either really like that, or really hate it. Since much of the story is inferred, rather than deliberately spelled out for the viewer, it opens the door for a wider range of interpretations. So, if you have patience and an open mind, you will probably enjoy this film a lot. If you prefer more traditional films, you may want to skip this one.

The story follows a young man who breaks into people's houses and lives in them, while they are on vacation. But, he's not your typical burglar. Despite his law-breaking tendencies, he does nice things for the people while they are out, like washing clothes, fixing broken toys and other things of that nature. From there, the story takes many twists and turns, involving subtle humor, romance, and a bit of violence. But most of all, it offers an engaging story. All of this makes for a film with a deep sense of humanity and beauty.