A Ilha

Wow, where to start with this. Ki Duk Kim has always been a divisive director, with his films showing slow burning, very natural, almost spiritual human traits. This though is like a magnified version of a Ki Duk Kim film. It's low budget, set in a single location, stunningly beautiful, very gruesome in parts, explicit and controversial. It centres around a lonely woman (Hee Jin) who delivers bait to tourist fisherman. What we see unfold is a symbolism heavy ride into a twisted / tumultuous relationship between Hee Jin and a visitor. It's full of breathtaking cinematography, sparse dialogue and one of the most stomach churning suicide attempts I've ever seen on screen. As usual with Ki Duk Kim, water as a symbol is featured heavily, and so are animals and nature. Quite why certain little creatures are sacrificed on screen I'm not sure though. A warning to anyone who is easily offended by animal cruelty - don't watch this movie.

What does it all mean in the end? I'm torn between it being an entire metaphor for how difficult relationships can be / an exploration into gender roles or a simple descent into madness tale. Maybe all 3. It is a heck of an experience though. Think of a Pedro Almodóvar movie mixed with a bit of Takashi Miike, maybe with a bit of Haneke in there too, and you may get the picture.

It's beautiful yet gruesome. I have to take a mark off for the animal cruelty, as it is bordering on unacceptable levels at times, but it still gets a 7.5/10

There are two immutable truths in matters of the heart. None more desirable than those who do not want you; none less desirable than those you could possess with ease. Somewhere between these two axioms fall the doomed lovers of this spellbinding offering. Beautiful Hee-Jin (Jung) is the grounds keeper for a dingy Korean fishing resort, selling snacks, bait, her tits 'n' ass, to the tourists she ferries between flotillas of fishing huts.

Fugitive Hyun-Shik (Yoo-Suk) shows up one day, shivering, suicidal, utterly alone. Another lost soul, Hee-Jin's smitten because, unlike her sleazy clientèle, Hyun-Shik's different. He doesn't abuse her or make fun of her muteness. And he fashions exquisite little wire sculptures for her, as they study one another across the rain-spattered lake. He in his unreachable desolation, she in her shore-side cabin, cat-like and inscrutable. The first time he tries to kill himself, by swallowing fishing hooks, she brings him back to life – to love – the only way she knows. From suicide to sex in three minutes. And nobody is going to get in her way. Director Kim Ki-duk, responsible for surprise Art-house hit Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…and Spring, has crafted another beautiful-horrible movie; gorgeous to look at, and often between splayed fingers. It's as minimal and soulful as a haiku. And as painful as falling in love

The Isle is a hard film to evaluate. It pulls the viewer's emotions in every different conceivable direction, from empathy to outright horror and everything in between. After it ended I wasn't sure if I was going to cry or to throw up; I didn't know if I was sad or happy or hopelessly angry. Either way, the film's images will probably haunt me for many years to come.

The film is beautifully photographed, making excellent use of the isolated fishing lake setting. All of the actors are perfect, even in scenes more painfully grotesque than anything I've seen in a film before. I simply cannot imagine the artistic process that went on during production-- how did the filmmakers raise the money to make this film, and how did they direct the actors to create such convincing performances from such outlandish material? And whose idea was it to end it like that?

I loved many things about this film, but I find it hard to recommend because of a few scenes involving really heartless animal cruelty. A fish is mutilated and partially eaten while it's still alive; a dog is yanked around by its collar and slapped; another fish is jolted with electrodes. Of course the humans in the film suffer much worse misfortunes, but the characters mostly deserve what they get, whereas the animals do not. Also, the scenes of human violence are created using makeup effects, but the animals have no such luck-- as far as I can tell, they're really slicing flesh off a live fish and eating it.

All I can really say is, see The Isle and make up your own mind about it. It will cause completely different individual reactions in every single member of the audience, and if you love it, good for you. If you hate it, I think I can understand why.

Ki-duk Kim's "Seom"/"The Isle" has to be one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen.The cinematography,the silence and the themes under the surface are incredible.The film explores human relationships and the pain of being in love,and being loved.Both characters(Hyun-shik and Hin-jin)are lost human beings searching for love.They crave love,yet shun it when it comes to them,as they are deeply aware of the destructive qualities it brings out in them.Suh-Shik Hwang's cinematography is absolutely beautiful and captures many impressive visuals.Still there are some horrific images that will shock casual viewer,so the viewer should be prepared.9 out of 10.

Another movie that has attained a little notoriety from the number of walk-outs at festival screenings, and even a couple of audience members passing out. Whilst it is not hard to see why, it is a shame that is what the film is known for, as there is much more to it than *those* scenes. A mute girl makes a living running a kind of retreat, where men can rent a floating cabin on a lake in the mountains and spend their days fishing, and their nights sleeping with prostitutes. The mute girl makes ends meet by taking on this role as well. A young man arrives and rents a cabin, clearly not their for the fish. We see that he is tortured and suicidal - you wouldn't guess why from the 5 second flashback that is meant to explain it, but the 'filmography' section of the DVD explains it in more detail. The mute girl is drawn to the man's desperation, perhaps feeling sympathy/protectiveness, or perhaps simply relating to another deeply unhappy soul.

The relationship between these two characters, and several other characters that come to the lake for one reason or another, is the main focus of the film. The difficulty some people have with relationships is the topic being studied, particularly when they are not happy in their relationship with themselves. The inner feelings of the characters receive expression in scenes whose 'shock factor' has drawn inevitable comparisons with Takashi Miike, especially AUDITION. Director Kim Ki Duk doesn't seem to mind these comparisons:

"KK: I saw Audition at Toronto and that movie made me realize that there is someone else out there like me. We are two of a kind"

If you couldn't sit through the last half hour of AUDITION, you'll probably want to give THE ISLE a miss too. It's also definitely not a film for animal lovers... there is absolutely zero chance of the film being released intact in the UK or the US, as the treatment of the animals in the film (mainly fish) is far outside what is permissible in either country's regulations.

But there is much more to THE ISLE than the scenes that make keeping your eyes on screen a challenge. In between, the film is absolutely ravishing, and will keep your eyes glued there. The setting of the lake, mostly bathed in deep fog, and the fantastic wordless performance from actress Jung Suh (and the rest of the cast) are beautiful and powerful. The loneliness and sadness of the characters is reflected brilliantly in the total isolation of the floating cabins. There is a deep message in the film, and it is presented to us beautifully.

Like Miike, Kim Ki-Duk makes us work for our reward when we watch THE ISLE... if you want to take away the beauty of his film, you have to be willing to pay the price of the horror. Thoroughly recommended!

One note: the film is another one of those great films that just doesn't know how to end itself. Actually, we get the perfect ending... a nice long shot and a fade to white and it should have been over, but

apparently Kim Ki Duk wasn't quite satisfied to leave it at that and tacks on two extra scenes, about a minute of footage, that are simply inexplicable and serve only to confuse and spoil the mood. My recommendation... when it fades to white, simply stop the DVD