The Isle (2000) Seom (original title)

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim

Release Date:

22 April 2000 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Mute Hee-Jin is working as a clerk in a fishing resort in the Korean wilderness; selling baits, food and occasionally her body to the fishing tourists...

Plot Keywords:

Fishing | Police | Food | Mute | Fish

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jung Suh	...	Hee-Jin
Yoosuk Kim	...	Hyun-Shik
Sung-hee Park	...	Eun-A
Jae-hyeon Jo	...	Mang-Chee
Hang-Seon Jang	...	Middle-aged man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yeo-jin Kim
Won Seo

Directed by
Ki-duk Kim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ki-duk Kim

Produced by
Eun Lee	....	producer

Original Music by
Sang-yun Jeon

Cinematography by
Seo-shik Hwang

Film Editing by
Min-ho Kyeong		(as Min Hokyung)

Production Design by
Ki-duk Kim

Costume Design by
Eun-jung Joo

Art Department
Ki-duk Kim	....	set designer

Sound Department
Seung-cheol Lee	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Seongho Jang	....	visual effects supervisor: Mofac Studio

Other crew
Judy Dixon	....	press publicist

Production Companies

• Myung Film Company Ltd.

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (for)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2003) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• CJ Entertainment (200?) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Empire Pictures Inc. (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Golden Scene (2001) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2002) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Steward (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• Tartan Films (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Teleseis S.L. (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Upstream Pictures (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2003) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• First Run Features (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2002) (Finland) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Raro Video (2007) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Universe Laser & Video Co. Ltd. (2001) (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Mofac Studio (visual effects)

Also Known As:

"Seom" - South Korea (original title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Japan:R-18 | Italy:VM18 (DVD) (self-applied) | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-15/13 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:Unrated | Ireland:18 (heavily cut) | Australia:MA

Company:

Myung Film Company Ltd.

Very painful view of relationships

This is definitely not a film for all tastes. "The Isle" not only shows some of the most disturbing images on film but it also makes the viewer work hard to try and figure out what it all means. Especially the very last scene which I think was put there for each viewer to make they're own interpretation, as Kubrick did for the end of "2001, A Space Odyssey". Suh Jung plays Hee-Jin who rents out floating fish cabins and supplies bait, food and prostitutes. She also is a prostitute and she never utters a single word in the film. Some have called her character a mute but towards the end of the film she screams so I am thinking her silence might be of her own doing! She is attracted to one of the renters who is suicidal and is hiding out. Suh Jungs performance is very strong and its difficult to carry a film without speaking a word and the actor has to rely to a great length on how well and interesting the story is. Her performance reminds me of Isabelle Huppert in "The Piano Teacher". The amount of pain between the two characters is what they have in common. This is a film about relationships in a very strange setting with two strange people. Each character has a scene involving fish hooks and when they take place its up to the other character to try and ease the pain. Good cinematography with shots of the lake at dawn or sunset with mist and fog on the water. Very tough film to view with all the self mutilation and animal cruelty. For those of you who have viewed Asian films before then you should check out this very well made film.