Hee-Jin is a mute woman who works in a fishing resort, somewhere in the Korean wilderness. There she sells baits, food, takes people in her boat, and sometimes sells her body to the fishing tourists. She falls in love with Hyun-Shik, a man wanted by the police, and saves his life when he tries to commit suicide.
Kim (Samaria, Bad Guy) Ki-Duk's The Isle is a very different movie compared to most other Asian titles out there. The genre is very hard to describe, as it has been categorized as a horror movie by some and a drama by some and so on. It's not a horror movie, it has some horror in it, but not the actual horror you talk about when you talk about Asian horror in general. I would say that it's first and most a drama, but an extremely dark drama with a sadistic tone to it. Can't really think of another way to describe it.
Also The Isle is not aimed at a western audience, and I guess a lot of people will have a problem watching this one. Why I say that is that first off it's for Asian film buffs, if you're not very used to Asian flicks, this one is not recommended to begin with. Secondly, it's kind of an art house movie, not too arty, but still enough so to separate itself from a lot of other more general flicks out there, and that may cause problems for some viewers as well. People who go in watching The Isle thinking it's just another Asian horror movie will be truly disappointed.
First time I watched this movie, I kind of expected something in the same vein as Audition. That is, a woman gets hurt by some and seeks revenge, I was truly mistaken. The Isle focuses on this mute woman Hee-Jin, who's a sort of a looner working in this small fishing resort with a little of this, a little of that. She doesn't have a pleasant life and people don't treat her that well.
 
But one day this guy, Hyun-Shik, comes along and an attraction between the two arise. But Hee-Jin acts a little strange and makes it hard for the guy, and the guy doesn't have his head in the right place either, and ends screwing things up a bit with bringing some hooker to his fishing hut etc. This causes jealousy and unhappiness to both of them, and there are a lot of things going on between the two.
The acting in this movie is just brilliant. First off since Hee-Jin is mute which makes her character very different compared to if she could talk, and she handles this character so well it's amazing. Other than that, there are not too much dialogue in the movie at all, it's kind of a silent movie and that adds a special feel to it which is nice, and at the same time a bit eerie. The overall enviroment with the fishing village, the foggy waters and the small floating huts in the lake adds a certain feel to the whole experience as well.
There are two scenes in this movie that are just horrific to watch as they deal with self-mutilation, and watching it sure makes you cringe. Although, this also adds a lot of feeling to the movie as well and is certainly needed. Expect for Hee-Jin and Hyun-Shik, the movie also deals a little with a few other characters, all that are tragic, one way or another. Even if it's not a real horror movie, the actual drama is so strong that The Isle ends up being a disturbing piece of film to watch. It's also a very calm movie, but very bizarre and will sure be hard to stomach for a lot of people.
The isle is a fantastic flick that has a lot of feeling but is very dark and hard to stomach at times. It's a very bizarre and different kind of relationship story that might be hard for some people to appreciate. Truly recommended for fans of Asian cinema.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Seom
MOVIE YEAR: 2000
DIRECTOR: Ki-duk Kim
WRITING CREDITS: Ki-duk Kim
GENRE: Drama, Sexploitation, Thriller
CAST: Jung Suh, Yoosuk Kim, Sung-hee Park
COUNTRY: South Korea
RUNTIME: 90 min
RATING: 8/10
Isle, The Website/IMDB Click here
Isle, The Trailer Click here
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