THE BOW
DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 90 minutes, featurette, photo gallery, original theatrical trailer
VIDEO: 1.85:1 (Anamorphic widescreen)
AUDIO: Korean 5.1, 2.0 Dolby Digital, 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: English, Spanish
STUDIO: Happinet Pictures/ Cine Click/ Tartan Video
RELEASE DATE: 6-26-2007

THE BOW is one of those films where the actions carry the story and silence between two people says volumes. it is also a film that has very little dialogue. It may be the metaphors may have been laid a little thick, but I just found THE BOW to be a very strange film. The music is a little too over-the-top. THE BOW kept me watching, but I could have lived without ever seeing it at all.

THE BOW involves a 60 year old fisherman who has been raising a girl for the last 10 plus years (since she was six) and he plans to marry her on her 17th birthday. Yep, the old man has lost it in more ways than one. The girl seems content with her life on the boat. She even swings on the side of the boat in a swing while he shoots arrow at a painted image to tell people's fortunes. He shoots arrows at any guy who gets too close to her or touch her. A rival comes in the form a of a teenage boy that the girl becomes smitten with. She grows distant and rebels whenever the old fisherman tries to control the situation. She wants to see the world beyond the boat out in the sea.

Yes, the girl is cute and charming. The old man seems content whenever he is with her and confused when she beigins to spurn him. Thankfully, THE BOW only lasts for 90 minutes. It does throw a few twists, but it still didn't make it a film I want to ever see again. just too much metaphor for me.

SPECIAL FEATURES: THE MAKING OF THE BOW is your standard behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews and on-the-set footage that could have been edityed down. The photo gallery is a slide show montage while the original theatrical trailer is also included in addition to previews for three other titles from Tartan Video

FINAL ANALYSIS: I just found THE BOW to be a little too metaphorical for my tastes and could have lived without it.

this DVD Review is (c)7-16-2007 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com