The Isle (2000)

A Carer becomes the mother to a secluded isle.

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim

Stars:

Jung Suh, Yoosuk Kim, Sung-hee Park

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

fishing | fish hook | police | mute | fish | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

22 April 2000 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

La isla

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,546, 25 August 2002

Gross USA:

$20,666

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,963

Company Credits

Production Co:

Myung Film Company Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Alternate Versions

The British Board of Film Classification cut 1 minute 50 seconds containing animal cruelty forbidden under UK law including shots of a drowning bird and a live fish being partly mutilated for food and returned to the water. The UK cinema version runs 88 minutes 8 seconds. The DVD release re-edited some scenes though it is still missing 1 minute 44 secs of similar footage.

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Connections

Referenced in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

User Reviews

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.