Nov 12, 2013 Kim Ki-duk’s Moebius is unsavory, inspired, and pure
When a friend asked me if I wanted to see Moebius at AFI Fest, I thought it was going to be a documentary about the French cartoonist. That would have been great, but even better it was Kim Ki-duk’s latest flick. I’m a big fan of the South Korean director, and have even had the pleasure of interviewing him for Giant Robot when his international breakout/art-house shocker The Isle first played Los Angeles and then conducted a post screening Q&A with him when the magazine hosted a preview of his film festival triumph, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and… Spring.
The times that I hung out with him, Kim Ki-duk was a real cool, quiet, and humble guy. He’s a self-taught filmmaker who began painting and then making movies after getting out of the marines. I love that his flicks hardly use any words and that they are typically short and uncluttered by extraneous characters or subplots. He doesn’t need any of that junk to get his point across, telling stories through the rawest of images and gnarliest of situations.
I can go into detail about the opening events of Moebius since (1) they’re not spoilers but starters for the emotional carnage that follows and (2) if I describe the movie in abstraction some of you who actually seek it out will probably get mad at me for not warning you that after the mother unsuccessfully tries to slice off her cheating husband’s member she uses the knife on their son. Or that in addition to castration and adultery there’s incest, gang rape and auto-erotic self-mutilation. If that sounds heavy that’s because it is. Kim takes the story so far out there that it goes beyond disturbing and becomes a fable.
While taboos are straightforwardly and unflinchingly broken left and right, there is humor–albeit drier than the Santa Ana Winds. When the emasculated boy tries to use a urinal and trickles all over his shoes is one of the darker laughs in recent cinema history, and when he goes through the motions of joining a gang rape with his nub to protect the victim it is strangely touching. The father’s researching and sharing ways to achieve orgasm without a penis provides additional warm, fuzzy, and disturbing moments. The eponymous Moebius Strip, the unending cycle between father and son, is symbolized in a memorable visual pun toward the movie’s end. Kim’s newer, digital pieces aren’t quite as gorgeous as his filmed works but they are still quite beautiful and inspired.
While Kim has won best movie awards at Cannes, Berlin, and Venice, he does not enjoy mainstream success in his home country. Moebius is only being shown with major cuts in South Korea, and Kim typically finds backing from international sources. I can’t help but admire Kim’s commitment to his vision; he is driven to do whatever it takes to make his films happen even though most audiences will neither be able to see them nor even want to. That is badass.
These days, most filmmakers spend millions to present spectacles on giant screens with 3-D effects or milk nostalgia and trends to create franchises with built-in sequels and tie-ins to video games, toys, and fast-food joints. In contrast, Kim tells the heaviest of stories on shoestring budgets with bare-bones casts and has the biggest impact of all. Kim’s work is not for everyone but Moebius is important and powerful filmmaking that will hit you in the gut and leave you pondering and deconstructing the onscreen family’s dynamics for days on end. Its topics are scandalous but the form is as pure as a movie can be. And did I mention that there is not one word of dialogue in it?
A second screening of Moebius takes place at AFI Fest tonight. It’s listed as sold out, but because tickets are free and the movie is unsavory there were plenty of people giving out extra tickets when I saw it on Sunday night. Check out the trailer below and definitely try to catch it on the big screen if it’s your type of thing…