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.
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- 6 wins & 7 nominations
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- TriviaThis fell foul of the British Board of Film Classification who demanded cuts, not because of the scene where a metal object is inserted into a vagina but of cruelty to fish, which director Kim Ki-duk admitted was genuine.
- Alternate versionsThe 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
- ConnectionsReferenced in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
Featured review
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.
helpful•6712
- rosscinema
- Mar 12, 2003
- How long is The Isle?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,666
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,546
- Aug 25, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $24,963
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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