Arirang 3: A messy, unsettling relic

Is this for you?

If you're the type of person who digs through archives to see how movies used to work before everything became a polished product, you might get a kick out of Arirang 3. It’s a bit rough around the edges, maybe even a little disturbing in how it handles its central conflict. If you need your protagonists to be likable or the plot to make perfect sense, look elsewhere. You will probably hate this if you want something fast-paced or technically smooth.

The whole premise feels like a fever dream. Tae-jun wants Young-hee, her brother says no, so he just... puts him in a mental hospital? It’s a leap in logic that made me blink a few times. The pacing is weirdly stop-and-start. One minute we’re looking at these intense stares, and the next, the movie is rushing through a life-changing decision.

Woon-gyu Na has a very specific way of framing things here. There’s a scene where the camera just lingers on the brother’s face, and it feels like it lasts for an eternity. It’s not necessarily "artful" in a modern sense, but it hits you right in the gut. You can tell they were trying to make this feel heavy, but sometimes it just ends up feeling awkward.

Odd bits and pieces

• The hospital sequence feels like it was filmed in a different decade than the rest of the movie.
• The way Tae-jun smiles when he thinks he's won is genuinely unsettling. It’s not a hero’s smile.
• I’m still not sure what the deal was with that one extra in the background of the market scene. They just kept pacing back and forth like they were waiting for a bus.

It’s funny how this sits next to something like Gitta entdeckt ihr Herz in the history books. They’re worlds apart, yet both are just trying to keep your attention on a screen. There’s a certain desperation in the acting in Arirang 3 that you just don't see anymore. It’s raw, for better or worse.

The movie doesn't really try to make Tae-jun's actions seem justified, but it doesn't quite condemn them either. It just lets the mess happen. I found myself thinking about the brother more than the main couple. He’s the one who gets the short end of the stick, and you really feel it every time he’s on screen.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it doesn't need to be. It’s just a strange, gloomy window into a different time. I’m glad I watched it, even if I’m not sure I’d sit through it again on a weekend night. 🎞️