5/5 Provocative and powerful film.
  by asian4life (Pittsburgh, PA USA)
Once again South Korea amazes us with another genre busting film. "The Isle" totally pulled me in. It is a dark toned, provocative film. If you enjoy twisted foreign films like "Visitor Q" and "Audition", then I completely recommend this film to you. Some other great South Korean films to watch are "A Tale Of Two Sisters", "Haeundae", "The Host", "Save The Green Planet", "Hansel & Gretel", "Phone", "I'm A Cyborg But That's Ok", "OldBoy", "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance", "Epitaph", "Surprise", "Punch Lady", "The Quiet Family", "Natural City", "My Sassy Girl", "My Wife Is A Gangster" 1-3, "My Scary Girl", "Samaritan Girl", "The Red Shoes", "Arang", "3-Iron", "Attack The Gas Station", "No Blood No Tears", "A.P.T." aka "Apartment", "Yellow Hair" and for over-the-top madness watch "Volcano High" (do not watch the English dub version though) and "Conduct Zero".

4/5 Stunning, Erotic and Surreal; Jung Suh amazes and seduces...
  by Woopak (Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell)
I've always been a fan of Kim Ki-Duk's. I've reviewed most of his films and for some reason, I haven't reviewed my first experience from this outcast Korean director. Kim has been labeled an outcast because his films are methodical, violent and his style usually deals more on themes and imagery rather than its narrative. "The ISLE" (2000) is a beautiful film, emotionally violent, horrific and it defies a solid definition of genre. It is a story about obsession and the examination of relationships. I'll get right to the point: if you can't stand sequences of animal abuse and if you prefer a more direct form of filmmaking then "The Isle" may not be for you. Kim's films are usually for the esoteric few who appreciate and understand this method in filmmaking.

Hee-jin (amazingly beautiful Jung Suh, also known as Seo Jeong) is a supposedly mute boat keeper. She supplies bait and food to the relaxing fishermen in the lake by day, and at night, she sells her body to the selfsame fishermen. One day, a man named Hyun-Shik (Yoo-Suk Kim) arrives, who supposedly came to fish but he is a man on the run from the law and is actually considering suicide. Hee-jin grows curious with Hyun-Shik and seemed to have developed a fondness for him. She watches him from the shore when he finally decides to commit suicide and she intervenes. The two begin to form a strange bond that may be beyond our basic instincts.

The little fishing village is a perfect backdrop for writer/director Kim Ki-Duk's film that borders on being a twisted fable and a conventional horror film. Now, even with its scenes of violence and animal mutilation, it is not a horror film; rather, it is a drama that tackles violent and obsessive behavior full of emotional content in a very direct way. When Hee-jin becomes abused by the fishermen after having sex with her, she responds with a violent fury that almost seems psychotic when she takes her revenge. "The ISLE" has very limited dialogue, the two lead characters hardly speak to anyone but their actions more than speak for themselves. It also has the most disturbing sequences with a fish hook that I've ever seen.

The movie is an examination of relationships between men and women. Kim is very fascinated with gender and relationships so he puts this factor in center stage. The two actually have a "Lynchian" type love affair. When Hyun-Shik tries to force himself on Hee-jin and she refuses, she sends him a prostitute that he befriends and she becomes extremely jealous. The sex scene between the two is erotic but at the same time, twisted. The slightly psychotic Hee-jin transforms into a romantic one when she is in Hyun's presence. Actress Jung Suh is thoroughly convincing as her character swings from one emotional mood to the next. No wonder she has become renowned for her role in this film. As the unusual bond develops between the two, their attachment to each other grows, both physically and emotionally. When one is hurt, the other responds in kind. Enter the Fish Hook.

Kim also shows just how the marginalized world of the lake operate; each gender is dependent on one another. Men are fishermen, pimps, criminals and cops. Women clean and provide care, sex and amusement. Both sexes are also potential adulterers which gives them common ground. In this world, both men and women play typical roles, and while in this world, men are considered the stronger of the two, but they are also very reliant on women. Hee-jin provides the boat, the only means of transport, food, to clean and sexual services. The relationship between the two is dependent on one another. Men are rendered incomplete without women as are women are also fairly incomplete without men.

There are subtle metaphors in the film and the key images in the film are enhanced by stunning visual flair. The shots become frozen in time as certain key elements and themes are driven home by visual manipulation. The film is a little slower paced that allows the viewer to properly absorb its sequences. The film does feel a bit longer than it actually is because the camera lingers at times. The direction and storytelling depends on its imagery.

THE ISLE is a worthwhile film and has become among my favorites by Kim Ki-Duk. Those who prefer straight-forward storytelling will be alienated but those who love challenging cinema with an "art house" thought provoking style will be rewarded. Kim doesn't really explain the climax in a conventional manner and leaves it to the viewer's interpretation. Kim excels in the surreal that may frustrate viewers but his style is definitely powerful. The film is well balanced but requires patience in order to be appreciated. Those with the correct mindset will be rewarded with "The Isle".

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [4 ½ - stars]

Note: The U.S. release is not the uncut edition with extended scenes of lizard and fish mutilation and an unexplained dog abuse. I own the uncut edition. Websites list the woman as Hee-jin but her name is never really mentioned in the film.




1/5 SIMPLY, THE WORST KIM KI-DUK FILM EVER...!
  by C. E. Urrego (MIAMI)
THIS FILM IS AS DISGUSTING AS IT IS MEANINGLESS AND CRUEL, WITHOUT ANY
PURPOSE..!
I AM SURPRISED KI DUK DEBASED HIMSELF TO MAKE SUCH A PIECE OF TRASH.!!
IF HE'S TRYING TO SHOW RESENTMENT, WANTONNESS, DEBAUCHERY, LECHERY, PROFLIGACY OR INSANITY, HE FAILS TO CONVEY A MESSAGE BY MEANS OF WHIMSICAL, RUTHLESS AND CRUDE SCENES OR TAKES DURING THE FILM.
DOES NOT DESERVE ONE STAR...!!


4/5 I will never see a fish hook the same way again
  by Jenny J.J.I. (That Lives in Northern Nevada)
This is my third film from director Ki-duk Kim (II). The first one being "3-Iron" and the second "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring" both being great but close to silent films. The Isle (Seom), a deeply troubling and equally beautiful film that will shake the hardiest of souls despite a minimal body count and bloodletting. The poetic setting propels much of the storyline, which follows lost souls Hee-Jin (Suh Jung), an errand girl and occasional prostitute who services a neighborhood of floating lake homes, and new resident Hyun-Shik (Yoosuk Kim), a quiet, suicidal cop on the run from the law after shooting his girlfriend. When the despondent Hyun-Shik tries to kill himself, the young girl stops him with a well-applied knife poke. She continues to spy on him, and the two silently develop a twisted relationship that escalates when he engages in some self-mutilation involving fish hooks. Add to the mix an accidental death, corpse disposal, more fish hook mayhem, and a lyrical finale, and you have one of the more memorable art-house/shock cinema.

Though filled with images of sexual mutilation, excretion, and much-discussed animal violence (mainly to fish), "The Isle" is a far cry from an exploitation film; this is deeply felt, melancholy material, a harsh love story between two people beaten down by life and unable to express themselves except through pain.

The film also leavens the somber tone with a few nicely placed sick laughs, often at the expense of the characters' outrageous behavior, and director Ki-duk Kim displays an impeccable eye for simple, beautifully composed images. The floating single-room homes over foggy, rippling water are a marvelous, otherworldly visual conceit, though the feeling that the film itself might just float away is indeed fulfilled in the puzzling finale, which unfortunately goes about half a minute too long and closes with a non sequitor image that undoes much of the climax's power.

"The Isle (Seom)" a small blip in an otherwise immaculately constructed film that refuses to play by anyone's rules and stands as another proud example of horror filmmaking as a matter of tone rather than content.


3/5 Fatal Attraction - Korean Style
  by in e'gypt (Cairo, Egypt)
This movie is visually stunning, as most Korean movies are. Although the story is edgy, it explores the theme of what unrequited love is in that part of the world, to which most western viewers might find strange or even outrageous. Unless you get into the asian psyche of how it feels to be fatally attracted to someone, you'd probably not be able to fully understand this movie.

Some scenes are too sensitive and graphic for regular viewers.