OVERLAY REPORT

The ending of Kim Ki-duk's *The Bow* (2005) is highly symbolic, culminating in a surreal and ritualistic scene that signifies the girl's transition from an isolated, protected state to a liberated, sexually-awakened adulthood. The central symbolic meanings are tied to the final use of the **bow and arrow** and the subsequent **death of the old man** and **sinking of the boat**. ### 1. The Surreal Consummation and Sexual Awakening The most specific and crucial detail of the ending is the ritual that takes place after the girl returns to the boat and agrees to marry the old man, before he commits suicide. * **The Old Man's Final Act:** During their wedding night on the smaller boat, the old man plays the bow as a musical instrument until the girl falls asleep. He then shoots a **stringed arrow** high into the sky and jumps into the ocean, disappearing to his death. * **The Climactic Return:** Sometime later, the smaller boat drifts back to the fishing vessel where the young student is waiting. The sleeping girl awakens and begins to act as if she is having sex, reaching an intense orgasm. * **The Arrow's Strike:** At the moment of climax, the arrow the old man shot into the sky suddenly **plunges down and strikes the deck** between her legs, pinning her underdress to the wood. When the young man holds her, it is revealed that her dress is soaked with blood where the arrow pierced it. **Symbolic Meaning:** This sequence is widely interpreted as a **surreal, ritualistic consummation** of the marriage—a spiritual deflowering or sexual awakening independent of any physical act with a living partner. The bow, which throughout the film has served as an extension of the old man's power, protection, and sexuality, becomes the instrument of her final initiation into womanhood. The bleeding confirms her transition and the breaking of her psychological and physical "restraint" on the boat. The old man has given her the ultimate gift: liberation through his own death and a final, spiritual 'act' that frees her to leave with the young man. ### 2. The Duality and Resolution of the Bow The film's title object, the **bow (Hwal)**, resolves its dual meaning in the final scenes: * **Weapon vs. Music:** Throughout the film, the bow is a **lethal, protective weapon** (used to ward off men and maintain the old man's control) and a **beautiful musical instrument** (used for fortune-telling and communication with the girl). * **Final Use:** It is used one last time as a musical instrument to lull her to sleep, followed by its final use as a weapon (the arrow) to ritually complete their relationship and her transformation. The duality is summarized in the film's closing on-screen message: > **"Strength and a beautiful sound like in the tautness of a bow. I want to live like this until the day I die."** This message, often attributed to the director's motif, encapsulates the beautiful but dangerous intensity of the old man's passionate, possessive love and his eventual act of sacrifice (the "strength" and "tautness"). ### 3. The Sinking Boat As the girl and the young man sail away, the old fishing boat (the girl's former home and prison) begins to follow them, and then quietly sinks into the bottomless darkness of the ocean. **Symbolic Meaning:** The sinking of the boat represents the **dissolution of the old order** and the **final release from the old man's isolated, patriarchal world**. It confirms that the girl's past is literally sinking away, allowing her to embrace a new, unknown future with the young man.