2012 KOFFIA Review: Arirang (Kim Ki-duk, 2011)

Arirang, screening at the Korean Film Festival in Australia at the end of the month, is a documentary from iconic Korean filmmaker, Kim Ki-duk. Plagued by personal issues following an accident on production of his latest feature in 2008, Dream, the director turned to self-imposed exile and spiraled into depression. Shot by Ki-duk entirely by himself from a desolate shack on top of a mountain using a Canon Mark II digital camera, Arirang is a self-reflexive and confessional video diary. It is an insight into Ki-duk’s fractured mental state at the time as he takes a look back at his career to date, questions what cinema means to him now and if his filmmaking has any purpose in the world, and tries to come to terms with the accident and his conflicting emotions.

The lead actress in Dream was almost killed when a hanging scene went wrong. She suffered a near fatal injury and was narrowly saved by Ki-duk. For a couple of years the director lived in a state of anxiety and depression, completely removing himself from he world of filmmaking and international festivals and acclaim. It was during this period that he put this film together. Interestingly, Arirang screened as part of the Un Certain Regard at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and picked up the top prize. Ki-duk attended the festival and allowed to be interviewed.

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