The Ethics of Contemplation: Kim Ki-duk’s Arirang

Abstract

An ethical turn in contemporary fi lm studies and theory has redirected attention from the rational and universal to the emotional and particular as grounds for assessing the ethical value of the fi lm medium. Through its affective and sensorial engagement with the spectator, fi lm can become a site to forge an ethical relationship between the self and the world, as well as the self and others. Kim Ki-duk, the provocateur from South Korea, has never failed to entice the spectator with his “corporeal exclamation point,” 1 startling the world fi lm scene with his fi lms of extreme cruelty, often set against scenic, serene beauty. For three years (2008-2011), however, Kim withdrew himself from the fi lm industry and his overall community. It is claimed that one of his principal reasons for doing so comes from his inability to trusthis feelings of betrayal toward-his fi lm crew, some of whom have turned to more “commercial” fi lmmaking rather than continuing the hard-edged cinematic style for which Kim has been known.