MovieChat Forums > Binjip (2004) Discussion > the scale and the jail cell? (spoiler)

the scale and the jail cell? (spoiler)

posted 20 years ago by pegasus8228
109 replies | jump to latest

spoilers below

as pointed out by one of the review comments, how do we interpret the zero scale at the end? are they both ghost, and all these are really imaginations?

also, tae-suk was put into a solitary cell, is this supposed to be a normal cell or one for death penalty?
i remember in 'bad guy' it is the similar type of jail cell but i forgot if those in death penalty were put in soliatry cell....
also strange the cell has no bed and nothing inside.
can people who has watched more films on korean jail cell layout confirm?

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] thai_yem 18 years ago

For Christ sake people. Am I the only one that noticed that she changed the scale before he returned?

She obviously knew his weight beforehand. I reckon he weight 65kg, and she 45kg. She made the scale show -110kg when noone stood on it. Therefore, when they both stood on it, it showed ZERO.

As for the cell, it probably was some kind of solitary cell. He wasn't death sentenced. They couldn't even accuse him for murder.

And the bed? Maybe they brought in a bed every night. Maybe they escorted him to one. He obviously didn't sleep on the floor. They gave him those warm slippers for a reason; the floor was cold. Too cold to sleep on.

[–] Nicholson_graham 18 years ago

In one of the scenes where the guard searches the cell, a stack of thick blankets sits on the floor. I wouldn't say he "obviously didn't sleep on the floor." We are talking about a place where the guards beat you and starve you if you aren't in plain sight when they're doing their rounds.

The scale was I think a symbol of balance found in their companionship. A Ying and Yang type of thing. There was a shot, whether intentional I can't say, when the two kiss for the first time in which Sun-Hwa and Tae-Suk resemble a Ying-Yang to me. They're sitting on a couch after drinking some tea. Beneath the table in front of them Sun-Hwa touches Tae-Suk's foot with her's, then he leans over to kiss her. I remember that striking me as something of a human Ying-Yang at the time.

[–] cacamier 17 years ago

I agree with the later conclusions people have come up with, but i think you're missing something regarding to the scale.

Remember how the girl weighed about 57kgs while the guy was in prison? Then she fixed the scale, but only to show how she was even heavier then. She obviously got pregnant previously, and also she probably started eating more once she left her house, it's hard to have any apetite when your husband beats you regularly.

Then after Tae-Suk is released from prison, they have a big breakfast and Tae gets most of the food while the husband cant see him (he could've noticed though some extra food missing afterwards, poor intellect for him). This means Tae had his belly full when they stand together on the scale at the end of the movie. He used to weigh 65kgs, he probably was weighing around 72.5kgs after such an abundant breakfast.

Finally, the scale's limit was 145kgs, showing zero when this limit is reached. Thus i think it's safe to assume Sun was fast pregnant and better fed by the time they both stand on the scale, her reaching somewhere around 72.5kgs. This way, Tae would have to weigh the same (he had a lotta food for breakfast that morning) so it would add up to the scale's limit, 145kgs.

And that's the whole deep meaning. They're in perfect balance not because the scale shows zero, but because that zero is the consequence of each of them weighing exactly the same, each of them being exactly of the same value for them together and their relationship. Just think simple.

Oh, and another factor for Sun to gain weight late in the movie: she started hitting her husband back when he slapped her, gaining her some extra muscle mass in the last couple of days. Everyone knows muscle weighs more than fat, further proving the 2x72.5 theory is correct. Ah well, details.

[–] bladeseed 17 years ago

I don't think he died and became a ghost. Remember after he was dragged out of his cell, he attacked the police officer with the golf balls and ate breakfast at the woman's house. The resemblance to a ghost if very symbolic and meaningful, like he's transcended physical existence. However it's totally absurd to say that he died, became a ghost, at food as a ghost, and attacked a police officer as a ghost.

lol

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] sephiroth-clone-0 17 years ago

He didn't strike me as having died, or even having been put in solitary confinement. It seemed that he just got better and better at hiding and sneaking, to the level of figurative ninja abilities. It also fits in with the theme of the movie, because he doesn't live a normal life within society, he stays outside of it. It kind of reminds me of Emerson's idea of becoming a "transparent eyeball," of being able to observe without being a part of anything. He becomes transcendent.

As for the end, whether it read zero or happened to line up at the maximum weight (145 kg) perfectly is irrelevant, although it makes more sense physically that it reads a maximum. Regardless, the symbolism is still there. They can be seen as completing or complementing each other perfectly.

As for the ending comment "It's hard to tell that the world we live in is either a reality or a dream," I think it really IS left for the individual viewer. It seems to me that everyone in this thread sought this movie out specifically, especially those that are international viewers rather than native Koreans. As such, most of you are probably more culturally educated than the average person (in terms of international culture, not nationally specific culture).
However, it does strongly remind the viewer of the surreal atmosphere pervading the movie, which either reinforces the themes or raises questions as to whether certain parts of it were "real" even in the context of the movie. Again, your choice (I found it to be a nonspecific reminder of the themes in the movie that are present in everyday life. It feels more like a director's note or philosophical commentary than a strictly story-related end note, even though it has direct ties to the plot as well).

[–] turok670 17 years ago

Eveything about him is a mystery in the film, we gather things about him only by his actions and how other react to him. We don't really know what motivates him (love? loneliness?) but what we do know is that he is not like other people.
He doesn't die, that would be a silly end to the movie. To me this is somewhat of a fantasy film, but at the same time very real. He falls in love, he wants to be by the woman he loves, so what does he do? in jail in learns how to become invisible (like a ninja). He escapes and goes back to his love. With all his training of people's line of vision and movements are used to becom his loves husband in a way. He in a way is invisible, to everyone else but his love.
I think it's a wonderful story, and it would be silly if he was dead in the end, that doesn't fit into ANYTHING in the story, it's too simple of a solution to the question.

[–] sephiroth-clone-0 17 years ago

Why it displays zero is factually irrelevant. Well, somewhat. Whether she fixed it, their weight changed, or whatnot, the point is that they both read zero while standing on it at the end. It didn't seem to me that the director would suggest that they both died by the end of the story. They "complete" or "balance" each other. Additionally, I found the last line of the movie to be every bit as significant as that imagery, particularly since it was superimposed over the last shot.