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The Isle

Original title: Seom
  • 20002000
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
Seom (2000)
  • Drama
  • Thriller
Working at a fishing resort in an idyllic location, but surrounded by various facets of human unpleasantness, a young mute woman falls in love with a man on the run from the law for committi... Read allWorking at a fishing resort in an idyllic location, but surrounded by various facets of human unpleasantness, a young mute woman falls in love with a man on the run from the law for committing murder.Working at a fishing resort in an idyllic location, but surrounded by various facets of human unpleasantness, a young mute woman falls in love with a man on the run from the law for committing murder.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Kim Ki-duk
  • Writer
    • Kim Ki-duk
  • Stars
    • Jung Suh
    • Yu-seok Kim
    • Jae-Hyun Cho
Top credits
  • Director
    • Kim Ki-duk
  • Writer
    • Kim Ki-duk
  • Stars
    • Jung Suh
    • Yu-seok Kim
    • Jae-Hyun Cho
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 71User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 3 nominations

    Photos58

    Armie Hammer at an event for Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Seom (2000)
    Jung Suh and Yu-seok Kim in Seom (2000)
    Jung Suh and Yu-seok Kim in Seom (2000)
    Jung Suh in Seom (2000)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jung Suh
    Jung Suh
    • Hee-Jinas Hee-Jin
    Yu-seok Kim
    Yu-seok Kim
    • Hyun-Shikas Hyun-Shik
    Jae-Hyun Cho
    Jae-Hyun Cho
    • Mang-Cheeas Mang-Chee
    Hang-Seon Jang
    • Middle-aged manas Middle-aged man
    Min-seok Son
    • Dal-Sooas Dal-Soo
    Ji-Seon Han
    • Jeong-Ahas Jeong-Ah
    Jeong-sik Kang
    • 40-Year-Old Fishermanas 40-Year-Old Fisherman
    Hye-kyeong Choi
    • Young lady 1as Young lady 1
    Seon-hwa Jeon
    • Young lady 2as Young lady 2
    Won Seo
    Song Seung-heon
    Song Seung-heon
    Kim Yeo-jin
    Kim Yeo-jin
    • Director
      • Kim Ki-duk
    • Writer
      • Kim Ki-duk
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. One day she falls in love to Hyun-Shik, who is on the run for the police and rescues him with a fish hook, when he tries to commit suicide. —Moritz Muehlenhoff <jmm@inutil.org>
    • fishing
    • fish hook
    • police
    • mute
    • fish
    • 103 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • A beautiful yet dangerous place...
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Alternate versions
      The cut UK print was submitted to the Irish censor who cited the violence as causing concern - he gave the distributor (Tartan Films) two options:
      • Resubmit the same version (presumably for an appeal/reconsideration)
      • Submit an altered version to secure a certificate
      They went with the latter, despite the changes not being required under law - this censored version was certified 18 on September 29, 2004. The cuts totaled 3m 15s on top of the UK's 1m 50s to animal cruelty - the running time of the Irish print is 84m 53s compared to the UK's 88m 8s. No details for the cuts or justification for the decision were made available. An article in the Irish Times issue dated October 1, 2004 explains it in further detail: "The Isle was due to open at UGC Cinemas in Dublin on September 10th as part of the touring Asia Extreme season organised by the London-based distributors, Tartan Films. On that date, showings of the South Korean film were listed in all the daily UGC advertisements, and a display ad for the film was run in The Ticket, as was Donald Clarke's review. But the film never opened and has yet to receive a public screening in Ireland. The Isle was submitted to the censor's office on September 8th, just two days before it was due to be released - very late notice at an exceptionally busy period for new releases. John Kelleher, the film censor, made time to view it the next day, but found that some elements of the film required serious consideration. "We contacted Tartan and drew attention to scenes of sexual violence and explicit self-mutilation that were causing us concern," he says. "It was entirely up to Tartan Films if they wanted to resubmit the same version of the film, or a different version." Tartan subsequently submitted an altered version of the film, which was viewed by Kelleher on Wednesday morning and passed with an 18 certificate. The film had already been cut by 110 seconds by the British Board of Film Classification because of a scene of animal cruelty. In his three-star review, Donald Clarke noted "the notorious scene in which the female lead, part avenging angel, part lady of the lake, inserts fishhooks into her vagina and then, as if that were not uncomfortable enough, hauls them out again". He also noted that in the film's "envelope-pushing shock therapy, the hero does something similar to his esophagus." The Isle will probably open at the end of the Asia Extreme season, on November 5th."
    • Connections
      Referenced in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

    User reviews71

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Challenges the audience to work for their reward, but pays off if you make it
    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
    helpful•54
    18
    • simon_booth
    • Mar 17, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 22, 2000 (South Korea)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Language
      • Korean
    • Also known as
      • La isla
    • Filming locations
      • South Korea
    • Production company
      • Myung Film Company Ltd.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $20,666
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,546
      • Aug 25, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $24,963
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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