MovieChat Forums > Bin-jip (2004) Discussion > 3-iron and buddhism(possible spoilers)

3-iron and buddhism(possible spoilers)

posted 16 years ago by rahul_capri
10 replies | jump to latest

In my understanding,this movie is linked with Buddhism.3- Iron refers to the well known three marks of Buddhism- impermanence,non-self, and the enlightened state of existence (nirvana). This movie describes the metamorphosis of a person on the Buddhist path.
1-Impermanence - The protagonist keeps living in other peoples houses and doesn't have a permanent stream of consciousness of his own.
2-Non-self- After going through stage 1 for a long time,he realizes that he has to obliterate his concept of self,to get rid of his restlessness.His path to non self is metaphorically described by the game of hide and seek he plays in prison.By the time he gets out of prison, he has achieved the state of non self which is metaphorically represented by him being invisible to people.
3- In the final scene he has attained Nirvana which is denoted by zero on the scale or complete extinction,emptiness,nothingness.

I was wondering if the director has said anything about this.

[–] Blueghost 16 years ago

I pesonally don't know, but there is a director's commentary on the DVD.

[–] Antonio_G 15 years ago

I loved the movie, but I was thinking why it was called 3-Iron.
This explanation souds good to me!
Thanx!

You... are... my... lucky lucky lucky star...

[–] lolofay 15 years ago

Actually I thought the title of this movie refered to the golf club he uses. But that's an interesting interpretation.

[–] dagrattle 15 years ago

Yes, plus the Korean title translates to "Empty Houses," not "3-Iron."

But still an interesting way of looking at it.

[–] ramboratatat 15 years ago

ohh i see... so thats how was it called 3-iron... Thx for the info.. im also wondering.. its kinda weird movie but somehow it is unique story

[–] tintinau 15 years ago

amazing explanation!!!

after your translation, I did a few search about Buddhism 3-Iron and it really reflects to the film!

asian movies (good one only) usually have deeper meaning than they may appear to us.

thanks.

[–] tintinau 15 years ago

Also, I just remember, the director of this film Ki-duk Kim, he also did the other superb film about Buddhism: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring.

Recalling that, now I can see your translation about 3-Iron is completely making sense.

Thanks.

[–] asia_extreme 15 years ago

the actual translation is empty house but it doesn't sound good for a movie so they used 3 iron as it sounds a little more interesting and mysterious.

Perhaps the reason the main character uses a 3-iron is because of the Buddhism link, out of a whole golf bag there's any number of clubs he could've used so why the 3-iron?

I think there's a good chance Ki-duk Kim did chose the 3-iron for the links to buddhist beliefs.

[–] sriram7612 15 years ago

Thanks for the explanation. It's just seen in the movie of what you said above.

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http://sriram7612.blogspot.com

[–] yaserelkateb 8 years ago

Excellent explanation thank you .