The Isle
by Ki-duk Kim (II)
List Price:
Our Price: $16.77
You Save: $13.14 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.86 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Hang-Seon Jang, Jae-hyeon Jo, Jung Suh, Sung-hee Park, Yoosuk KimDirector: Ki-duk Kim (II)
Brand: First RUN Features
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Korean (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: FIRST RUN FEATURES
Movie Reviews of The Isle
Movie Review: Haunting
Summary: 5 Stars
Thanks to the recent boom in Asian horror films and their American remakes, specifically films like "The Ring" and "The Grudge," we are starting to see movies from other countries in that region. Exhibit A is the South Korean film "The Isle." Before watching this film I didn't even think South Korea made films let alone distributed them beyond their borders. The words "South Korea" conjure up memories of "M*A*S*H*" and the Korean War, the demilitarized zone and Kim Jong-Il. What those words do not bring to mind is cinema. But here's a movie, and a pretty disturbing one at that, which easily compares with the grotesqueries coming out of Japan and Hong Kong. Compares, that is, not in a particularly gory way but in the emotionally and psychologically devastating way one usually sees in a Takashi Miike picture. In fact, I began mentally comparing "The Isle" with Miike's "Visitor Q" and "Audition" due to what I saw as a similarity in themes dealing with the inability of people to connect with one another in healthy ways. What the heck is going on over in Asia that gives birth to film after film loaded with alienation and damaged human beings?
"The Isle" wallows in enigmatic symbolism and bleak images. The entire picture revolves around an isolated lake up in the mountains where people go to fish. A very attractive mute young lady, Hee-Jin (Jung Suh), works as the caretaker of the lake, a job that entails renting little colored floating cabins to guests and supplying said cabins with whatever the visitors need. In some cases, the men on these little getaways require quite a bit from Hee-Jin, a requirement that she readily acquiesces to for the right price. She's not without a vindictive streak, however, and will punish anyone who mistreats her by tipping them into the water or through other mean-spirited tricks. Hardly a mean thing to do, really, unless you cannot swim, which is what happens to one jerk when he fails to do right by Hee-Jin. Actually, most of the people visiting the lake are jerks of one sort or another. Even the harridans and their violent employer, who show up at the water's edge from time to time at the request of a guest, are decidedly unfriendly. Most of the film focuses on Hee-Jin's seemingly mundane daily activities and the people who visit the lake. Everything changes when a depressed loner by the name of Hyun-Shik arrives on the scene. He rents a floating cabin and stays there much longer than anyone else does, and it's obvious he isn't that interested in fishing. The stranger piques Hee-Jin's interest.
Through a few quick flashbacks, the movie reveals that Hyun-Shik is actually a man on the run, a fugitive from the law for a crime he committed prior to arriving at the lake. In his other life he was a police officer, but he was also an extremely jealous, possessive man who killed his significant other. During his tenure on the water, Hyun-Shik generally keeps to himself until Hee-Jin gradually intrudes on his life. She introduces him to the wonders of fishing and rescues him after the police turn up at the lake looking for fugitives. In an effort to escape the long arm of the law, and since he's trapped on a float in the middle of a lake with no means to reach the shore, Hyun Shik swallows a bundle of fishhooks in an effort to escape incarceration. He needn't have gone to such extremes, however, as the police find another man to arrest and leave. Oops. Talk about an overreaction of a lifetime! Fortunately, Hee-Jin powers up in her little boat and nurses the ex-police officer back to health. The two then strike up a tempestuous relationship that leads to murder, Hee-Jin's own encounter with fishhooks, and a truly enigmatic conclusion that left me scratching my head in confusion.
I spent more time paying attention to the atmosphere of the film than I did trying to decipher the characters' motivations. The lake is a grim, brooding body of water located in the middle of nowhere, often shrouded with fog and haze. The little floating cabins and a few of the people who come to stay for a few days represent the only real color seen in the film. What does that mean? Well, perhaps it hints at the nature of Hee-Jin's and Hyun-Shik's self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world. More interesting is the symbolism of the fishhook atrocities, a particularly interesting symbolism seeing as how it is tied to the purpose of those who come to the lake. The customers stay to catch fish, but Hee-Jin and Hyun-Shik catch each other by using emotional pain as bait. Each responds to the other more directly after the hooks dig into the other's flesh, realizing that they are both similar in outlook and nature. That their relationship results in the taking of a life shouldn't be too surprising considering how damaged both of these people are. "The Isle" means something like that--I don't know. My experience with films like this tells me that those viewers without knowledge of the culture in question (re: me) probably won't grasp the finer points of the plot.
The DVD version of "The Isle" includes a music video, a making of featurette, interviews with the cast and the director, a trailer, and trailers for "Tuvalu," "Merci Pour Le Chocolat," and "The Trial of Henry Kissinger." Although I am sure I missed a lot of what the movie tried to achieve, one cannot deny the beauty of this film. It's highly unlikely an American studio will remake this depressing picture, though; they like material with a lot of flash and fire, which makes "The Isle" far too subtle for their tastes.
Summary of The Isle
ISLE - DVD MovieSimilar DVD Movies
Address UnknownRelease date: 2006-01-24; DVD
Best price: $1.29
Price in other shops:
The Coast GuardRelease date: 2005-08-09; DVD
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops:
PoetryKNV; Release date: 2011-08-23; DVD
Best price: $15.92
Price in other shops:
The HousemaidMPI; Release date: 2011-06-07; DVD
Best price: $13.87
Price in other shops:
TimeKoch International; Release date: 2011-12-07; DVD
Best price: $10.64
Price in other shops:
Samaritan GirlGenius; Release date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $5.77
Price in other shops:
The BowGenius; Release date: 2007-06-12; DVD
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Bad GuyKoch International; Release date: 2011-12-07; DVD
Best price: $7.66
Price in other shops:
3-IronSony; Release date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and SpringSony; Release date: 2004-09-07; DVD
Best price: $7.55
Price in other shops: