The Bow (2005)
dir. Kim Ki-duk

seen from Türkiye

seen from Australia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from T1

seen from Malaysia
seen from T1

seen from Philippines

seen from China

seen from Trinidad & Tobago

seen from United Kingdom

seen from Malaysia

seen from United States

seen from Malaysia
seen from Australia
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Netherlands
seen from France

seen from T1
The Bow (2005)
dir. Kim Ki-duk
250509 : hwal
"Its okay. I'll help you...I'll help you to put an end to this agony" Min Sang-Un
Knock Me Out by Bori Su Yeom and Hwal
Hwal and his slight smile... I'm melting 👼♥️
2005 The Bow
Someone write for Bulgasal. I need some Hwal fics!!!
What's the price of Immortality?
I honestly would rewatch the mess that Bulgasal is just for those last few minutes in the 14th episode. That's a part of Immortality that I often feel is brushed by when these storylines are written. The mortal one begs the immortal one to build connections, but then, those connections will die. It's not the agony of the curse, like a sword being stabbed and not being able to take it out. Or helping souls heal their grudges.
Most shows won't go into the truly raw and gritty side of Immortality. Bulgasal is just that, a being doesn't become more cunning for having lived so long, but resentful and pained, tormented. That's Hwal. That's Hwal in the last few minutes of episode 14. That's Hwal repeating cycles over and over again just because he's resentful. Hurting others, but most importantly hurting himself.
Make no mistake, Hwal is a bad person. This is the best example of a morally gray character, so complex. Hwal is always thinking about himself, and yes, his family too, but it's always about keeping them at arms length to avoid getting hurt. Yes, he doesn't want them to die, or suffer harm. But that's because he doesn't want to suffer an eternity more with the grief, not because he wants to see them grow.
Hwal is so blinded by pain, that you can truly tell that he hasn't become wiser, he has become a prickly porcupine that hurts others to protect himself. Immortality is a curse because you realize how short the moments in your life where you're truly happy are.
I honestly don't love Bulgasal, the performances aren't the best, and I hate more than one character (Hwal included), but this is truly a plot driven drama and those 5 minutes of Hwal torturing himself over the choices he made when raising Hye-Suk made ir all worth it.