By turns brutal and beguiling, The Isle is a fractured fairytale about guilt, jealousy, and tortured love. Its striking setting is a lake where men fish from floating huts, their days occasionally interrupted by boatkeeper and bait-supplier Hee-Jin (Suh Jung), who delivers prostitutes as well as sometimes whoring herself. Her isolated existence is interrupted by the arrival of Hyun-Shik (Kim Yoo-suk), a suicidal fugitive with whom she forms a silent, violent relationship. Their dysfunctional bond is the basis for a beautiful and disturbing film.
"Come on! You moan, I know you can talk," observes one of Hee-Jin's obnoxious customers of her silent state. She doesn't say a word in reply. She doesn't say ANYTHING for the entire film. Yet Suh Jung's face is so expressive - bespeaking danger and desire - that she is the picture's most powerful, compelling presence. It is extraordinary acting. But then, very little about The Isle is ordinary - from the eerie, erotic atmosphere to its sly sense of humour (a lustful john breaks off sex to catch a fish, and there's a grimly funny fistfight switcheroo).
"QUITE UNFORGETTABLE"
Filmed before director Kim Ki-duk's much-praised Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring, it had its British release delayed due to censorship problems, with one minute 50 seconds compulsorily cut due to animal cruelty (snipping a scene in which a rich businessman slices sushi from a freshly caught fish and then releases it back into the water). Purists (or fish haters) may want to import an unexpurgated version on DVD: it's certainly a film that demands repeat viewing.
The violence is shocking - two fishhook scenes may trouble the stomach - but it's not gratuitous. The wham-bam bloodiness of much American cinema (often emotionally deadening pap granted 15 certificates) is replaced by understated scenes of upsetting impact. Violence here has consequences, creating psychological - as well as physical - scars. Whether as a metaphor for marriage or simply an engrossing drama, The Isle is quite unforgettable.
In Korean with English subtitles.
The Isle (2004)
