... The couple become close, although not as close as Hee Jin would like and when Hyun-Shik befriends a prostitute, Hee Jin decides to take drastic action. Will Hyun-Shik repay Hee Jin for saving his life? Or will he betray her and leave her to face life alone?
I have seen this film advertised ... Read review
The Isle' tells a tale of a beautiful woman who lives on an eerie remote lake selling ... more
food to fisherman by day and her body by night. When the woman becomes obsessed with a suicidal former police officer haunted by the murder of his unfaithful girlfr...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Directed by Kim Ki-Duk (Bad Guy), The Isle tells the tale of Hee-Jin, the mute guardian of ... more
an isolated fishing isle, who spends her solitary existence selling bait to the fishermen by day and offering them her body by night.When an ex-cop, on the run f...
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
...supplies, food and sex to the fishermen, who live on small house floats in the middle of a lake. Although he tries to rape her, Hee Jin eventually falls in love with one of the fishermen, Hyun-Shik, an escaped criminal on the run from the police. When the police are too close for comfort, Hyun-Shik swallows some of his fishing hooks and nearly dies - it is only Hee Jin's quick thinking that saves him both from the police and from death. The couple ... ...expecting this to be along the same sort of lines. It is, however, not a horror of the sort that the Koreans do so well, but is a slow, psychological tale, full of metaphors and surprises, with the odd bit of gore thrown in for good measure. While it may sound as if it could be boring, it isn't. I found it beautifully mesmerising and captivating and could barely take my eyes off the screen for the duration of the film.
Hee Jin is mute and works for a fishing community selling fishing supplies, food and sex to the fishermen, who live on small house floats in the middle of a lake. Although he tries to rape her, Hee Jin eventually falls in love with one of the fishermen, Hyun-Shik, an escaped criminal on the run from the police. When the police are too close for comfort, Hyun-Shik swallows some of his fishing hooks and nearly dies - it is only Hee Jin's quick thinking that saves him both from the police and from death. The couple become close, although not as close as Hee Jin would like and when Hyun-Shik befriends a prostitute, Hee Jin decides to take drastic action. Will Hyun-Shik repay Hee Jin for saving his life? Or will he betray her and leave her to face life alone?
I have seen this film advertised a couple of times and thought that it looked good - I am a big fan of Korean horror and, as a Tartan Extra film, I was expecting this to be along the same sort of lines. It is, however, not a horror of the sort that the Koreans do so well, but is a slow, psychological tale, full of metaphors and surprises, with the odd bit of gore thrown in for good measure. While it may sound as if it could be boring, it isn't. I found it beautifully mesmerising and captivating and could barely take my eyes off the screen for the duration of the film.
Hee Jin is played by Jung Suh, who appears to be a relatively new actress, at least according to imdb.com. Because her character is mute, she is forced to rely on facial expressions and actions to express what she wants to convey. This she does superbly. Her face shows the whole gamut of expressions from love to hate to fear and yet she always manages to keep a little something back so that the audience is kept on its toes. Although it should be hard to feel much sympathy for her, she still managed to persuade me that she didn't completely deserve the way that everyone around her treated her - the other fishermen and various visiting prostitutes equated her muteness with stupidity. This was a really captivating performance that kept me interested from the moment the film started.
Yoosuk Kim plays the lesser role of Hyun-Shik. His character is immediately much less likeable - through a flashback, we are made aware that he is probably guilty of grievous bodily harm, if not murder (although according to the blurb accompanying the disc on play.com, he is an ex cop whose girlfriend was murdered by someone else - not sure quite which is true). However, as the relationship between him and Hee Jin develops, it becomes clear that he is not completely bad and I found myself strangely rooting for the success of their relationship. I wavered in my feelings for him throughout the course of the film - Hyun-Shik displays quite violent emotions at times and just as I almost liked him, he would do something to make me change my mind. Again though, this was a very compelling performance that kept me gripped throughout the film.
Probably the most amazing thing about this film is that there is very little dialogue and in fact, the dialogue that there is is not at all vital for the viewer's understanding of what is going on because it is between minor characters. In fact, when there was talking, I found myself starting - it broke my concentration. I don't think I have ever seen a film that relies on visual rather than aural gratification. Visually, the film is absolutely stunning. It is set on and around a lake and the scenery is beautiful. Added to that are the brightly coloured house floats that the fishermen live in and the shots of the weather - rain pounding down on the lake and mist that accompanies dawn. When this is combined with the atmosphere - the knowledge that something is going to happen, but you're not quite sure what - this is one of the most beautifully directed films that I have ever seen.
It is quite difficult to tell what the film is about. My interpretation is that it shows how we are all dependent on other people, whether we like it or not and just as we are about to give up on the world, someone somewhere will come through for us. However, this is the sort of film that will be interpreted differently by each person that sees it - I think its beauty is that it can be what you want it to be. This may sound odd, but it really is a fantastic film despite the fact that the 'story' is not as straightforward as most Hollywood films.
I don't know quite how to classify this film. It isn't a horror - although there are some gory bits that lead to it having a classification of 18 - but I'm not sure it can be classed as a psychological thriller either. It is hard to explain, but the compulsion to watch came from the total originality of the plot - I had no idea from one moment to another what was going to happen next and yet the film is not at all abstract - everything that happens is very possible. I suppose it is basically a love story, of sorts, with some horrific bits thrown in just to stop the viewer from getting bored!
The only criticism I have of the film is that the ending is totally out of synch with the rest of the film and I wasn't quite sure what it meant. At the same time, it did leave me thinking - it makes a nice change to have a film that doesn't end with the final titles even if I didn't understand it!
Looking at various reviews of the film, there has been a lot written about cruelty to animals. This is primarily towards fish, although there is a dog who appears to be left to fend for itself, and is quite violent. I didn't find it terribly upsetting though - the fish were almost certainly going to be eaten anyway - but anyone who is fond of fish may find it disturbing. Personally, I found the insertion of fishing hooks into different orifices of the body (use your imagination....yes, you're probably right!) far more disturbing, although we were not subjected to any particularly graphic shots. The classification of 18 is definitely right for this film though - there is a lot of violence and death, although not always graphically portrayed.
On the whole, I highly recommend this film. It is one that I would consider buying (and I rarely buy DVDs), just because I think I will read new things into it each time I see it. Certainly it is one of the most visually attractive films that I have seen in years. If only the director, Ki-duk Kim, would pass his skills on to some of our Hollywood directors who seem to confuse action and too much dialogue for quality.
The eerily beautiful photography and melodic musical score of THE ISLE stand in odd contrast to the brutal horror story it tells. On the serene surface of a secluded bay float a series of candy-coloured fishing houses, rented to men who seek an escape. The owner and operator of the village is a mute woman with a row boat who delivers her guests to their floating rooms, and sells them bait, food, coffee, prostitutes, and occasionally her own body. The men mistreat her, and her wounded spirit haunts the lake. At first subtle and secretive, but increasingly more bold and direct, the mute woman enacts unexpected violence upon the men. For example, when one client is leaning out over the dock to defecate into the lake, she swims up behind him, pulls him under the water, and stabs him. The blurred, partially submerged camerawork suggests that the woman is disembodied while committing these acts, as if unrealised hatred is surfacing within her to inspire her actions. Real trouble arrives in the form of a man who is hiding out from the law. He rents the yellow fishing house closest to shore and contemplates suicide. A sadomasochistic chemistry develops between this unhappy man and the mute woman and their relationship facilitates a series of extremely violent sex and mutilation scenes which ultimately bring THE ISLE to its disturbing conclusion.
6 Cast And Crew And Critic Interviews, Music Featurette, Behind The Scenes, Director Featurette
Aspect Ratio
1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
DTS 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dubbing Sound
DTS 5.1 Surround Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Korean
DVD Description
The eerily beautiful photography and melodic musical score of THE ISLE stand in odd contrast to the brutal horror story it tells. On the serene surface of a secluded bay float a series of candy-coloured fishing houses, rented to men who seek an escape. The owner and operator of the village is a mute woman with a row boat who delivers her guests to their floating rooms, and sells them bait, food, coffee, prostitutes, and occasionally her own body. The men mistreat her, and her wounded spirit haunts the lake. At first subtle and secretive, but increasingly more bold and direct, the mute woman enacts unexpected violence upon the men. For example, when one client is leaning out over the dock to defecate into the lake, she swims up behind him, pulls him under the water, and stabs him. The blurred, partially submerged camerawork suggests that the woman is disembodied while committing these acts, as if unrealised hatred is surfacing within her to inspire her actions. Real trouble arrives in the form of a man who is hiding out from the law. He rents the yellow fishing house closest to shore and contemplates suicide. A sadomasochistic chemistry develops between this unhappy man and the mute woman and their relationship facilitates a series of extremely violent sex and mutilation scenes which ultimately bring THE ISLE to its disturbing conclusion.
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