Karry
Best movie of this year hands down!
Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Smallclone100
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
tnrcooper
The movie itself is amazing. I think it would be amazing without the violence toward animals. There is no need for it. The human behavior toward one another is horrible without bringing animals into it. The tortured souls trying to reach one another are amazing characters. They try to reach each other but the internal struggles keep them apart. Hee-Jin (Jung Suh) runs a business renting out little shacks on a lake to men who come to fish and consort with prostitutes. From time to time Hee-Jin also offers her body to the men. Usually they're loud, boorish men, but one day, a quiet, troubled man named Hyun-Shik (Yoosuk Kim) comes to stay. The two have their demons though and their troubles combine to ensure a painful story of two souls who can't quiet connect. The acting is great, the cinematography is very good, and so is Kim Ki Deok's direction. This is obviously not a happy movie so there isn't as much need to convey such a wide range of emotions as in some movies. That said, Jung Suh and Yoosuk Kim are very understated and their actions, as bold as some of them are, fill in admirably for overstated emotionalism. Some of the scenes are almost impossible to watch for the physically wrenching pain they represent. There are undoubtedly things in here you have never seen on film. The contrast of a serene environment and emotional alienation is jarring. I really wish Kim Ki Deok wouldn't use animal violence in his movies. There is no need for it. Yes, it might enhance the sense of emotional violence, but it's completely uncalled for. Kim Ki Deok highlights the turbulent inner lives of troubled souls and shines light on them. It's not pleasant but it is powerful, brave film-making casting a light on those whom society forgets.
princebansal1982
This film is meant only for adults and even then not for an average viewer. It has some graphic sex scenes, an almost rape, some animal torture with a little bit of self mutilation thrown in. As I said earlier, definitely not for an average viewer. The story itself is very weird and not everything makes sense. So if you like yours movies to make perfect sense this is probably not the movie for you. All that being said, The Isle has its positive points. The cinematography is beautiful in some parts. And the weird story just keeps you hooked as you don't have any idea what is going to happen next.I would recommend it if you watch a lot of foreign movies as it is quiet an experience and it remains with you for some time which is more than what could be said of a lot of other movies.
Edgar Soberon Torchia
I have not seen many remarkable motion pictures in the last few years. I may not be exposed to enough new and original creations, since Panama is not the best city to go to the cinema, monopolized by American mainstream productions. Through a fan of Asian cinema, I have lately watched a few films from Japan, China and South Korea that have really impressed me. On top of the list I place South Korean Ki-duk Kim's beautiful tale "Seom", a metaphor of an erotic obsession and gender submission, which in a way reminded me of Nagisa Oshima's "Aï no corrida". But while Oshima opted for a naturalistic representation of sex to narrate a true story, Kim's parable is frequently approached from a distance, with his characters' physicality and motivations subtly emerging from their actions and their placing in the beautiful fishing resort where all the story takes place. When Kim does get closer... well, you better be on guard, although the sadistic elements of the story make it more fascinating. "The Isle"'s last images are among the most striking (and unexpected) I've seen in decades. Highly recommended.
