ABSTRACT
An ethical turn in contemporary film 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 film medium. Through its affective and sensorial engagement with the spectator, film 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 film scene with his films of extreme cruelty, often set against scenic, serene beauty. For three years (2008–2011), however, Kim withdrew himself from the film industry and his overall community. It is claimed that one of his principal reasons for doing so comes from his inability to trust— his feelings of betrayal toward—his film crew, some of whom have turned to more “commercial” filmmaking rather than continuing the hard-edged cinematic style for which Kim has been known.
