Moebius
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Talent: Jae-hyeon Jo, Eun-woo Lee, Young-ju Seo
Release Date: 15th August 2014
A quick read of the film’s synopsis and Moebius might sound similar to several other recent releases aimed at an art cinema audience hooked on high-concept sexual violence (or posh gore more generally): furious at her husband’s infidelity, a disturbed woman cuts off her own son’s penis as he sleeps. In response, her husband has his own penis surgically removed in the hopes of eventually providing his son with a transplant. In the meantime, the two men explore living life without a dick.
But Moebius lacks the shocking relentlessness of a Von Trier body horror; Kim Ki-Duk’s trademark ability to marry peculiar concepts with uncomfortably naturalistic performances confounds any expectation the film’s premise might conjure up. Returning to a familiar conceit, the film runs its 90 minutes completely without dialogue, relying on small moments of emotional action to develop his characters’ relationships. The performances are interchangeably subtle and explosive, Kim’s camera finding the tiniest note of pleasure or frustration before backing off, leaving his subjects to rage and drown in their weird new world.
The Kim Ki-Duk style is all about contrasts. Scenes of obscenity and horror are followed up with scenes of bizarre, unexpected humour – humour that’s quite often unwelcome. Scenes of sadomasochism avoid the traditional depictions of S&M, opting to depict obtuse, imaginative and almost ludicrous sex instead. It’s a high risk approach, with many scenes striking dull or unexpected notes.
But maybe the biggest contradiction of Kim Ki-Duk’s style is just how strong an impression his films make, despite their apparent incongruousness. It’s an impression that implies a complete, joined-up creative vision; themes of sex, incest and sadism are all handled with the same uncompromisingly creative abstraction. Whatever the viewer’s conclusions, it’s a unique experience that’ll linger and gnaw as only Kim’s films do.
Words: Michael Healy
For more film coverage this month, see our reviews of The Hundred Foot Journey, The Congress, Million Dollar Arm, Into The Storm, Deliver Us From Evil, Obvious Child, The Expendables 3 and We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.
