Opening with the sound and images of the sea, the film introduces the viewer to its three central characters, survivors of a shipwreck drifting through a cloaking fog. Plot Butler-Hart describes the film as influenced by slow-burn horror of the 1970s, and he also spoke about the inspiration for the story — Eilean Shona, an island off the coast of Scotland that had a thriving community until the mid-nineteenth century, at which point people started to leave. The cruelty and slow pace just didn't do it for me. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. The closest Lynch film, if anything, I'd compare this to is "Mulholland Drive". FML that I happen to stumble upon such films these days around. 1, Film Review: Neko Atsume House (2017) By Masatoshi Kurakata, Film Review: Rouge (1988) by Stanley Kwan, Short Film Review: Temple of the Devilbuster (2020) by Wang I-fan, Film Review: Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010) by Jong-sik Nam, Lee Seung-gyu, Sang-jin Kim, Suko Murase, Mike Disa and Victor Cook, Music Video: DJ Shadow’s Six Days by Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong International Film Society Hosts World Premiere of Stoma, Film Review: Wet Woman in the Wind (2016) by Akihiko Shiota, Film Review: Far East Deep South (2020) by Larissa Lam, Anime Trailer: Poupelle of Chimney Town by Yusuke Hirota, Documentary Review: The Shepherds (2018) by Elvis Lu. WARNING: Major spoilers for Us from the start. Or both. | Rating: 2/4, September 16, 2020 By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. Her performance reminds me of Isabelle Huppert in "The Piano Teacher". While rude and very violent, still very magical and nice..

The next day Hyun-Shik seems grateful for Hee-Jin's intervention, and makes a wire sculpture of her sitting on a swing. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. In his review of the film, acclaimed critic Roger Ebert wrote:”This is the most gruesome and quease-inducing film you are likely to have seen. Tartan Asia Extreme are certainly treating us this month. Wow, where to start with this. It's full of breathtaking cinematography, sparse dialogue and one of the most stomach churning suicide attempts I've ever seen on screen.
There is beautiful pictures especially of the lake and the nature, a good setting of characters, a good direction. Let's just say you may have a little more empathy for how fish feel after you see this scene.

When one night he tries to take his life with a gun, Hee-Jin saves his life by stabbing him in the leg from the water below making him drop the gun into the lake. Comment. Hyun-shik, however, only wants companionship from the prostitute and a relationship starts to form between them. | Top Critics (11) Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Despite the noisy men renting the cottages, she lives a quiet life, not bothering anyone but also undisturbed by others as well. The cruelty and slow pace just didn't do it for me. Considering the director’s predilection for mute characters or minimalist dialogue, Suh Jung’s and Kim Yoosuk’s characters fit the profile. Sometimes a movie's shocking twist, ambiguous ending, or artsy finale can be more confusing than satisfying. The more nervous Jim Bickley (Graham Butler, “Miss in Her Teens”) has frequent bursts of anger, which become increasingly understandable as events spiral out of control. The Isle not only shows some of the most disturbing images on film ( animal mistreatment) but it also makes the viewer work hard to figure out what it all about. There is little question that this is a serious work by an important director who has something new to say about how, in the flip-flop of courtship, we often reel in when we should be playing out. FAQ

Hyun-shik takes the boat and is set to leave. A gorgeous and grotesque Korean film by director Kim Ki-Duk, who seems torn by his artistic and exploitive impulses. Like most of the director Kim Ki-duk's films, The Isle wasn't well received in his native country. I don't even want to imagine the excruciating pain those innocent and defenseless living beings felt in those horrific moments... Jesus... What kind of ''human'' would torture them like that for no reason, or just for money? This is a film about relationships in a very strange setting with two strange people. Enter Yoosuk Kim as Hyun-Shik, a seemingly decent and sensitive guy who makes wire sculptures whilst not fishing, although it soon transpires that he is tormented by memories of having killed his unfaithful girlfriend and her partner in a fit of jealousy. Tagged: ghost, investigation, island, norwich film festival, sailor, secret. Seom aka The Isle is written and directed by Korean film maker Ki-duk Kim. Not your slasher, undead walking, predictable spoon fed story. Perhaps South-Korean director Kim Ki-duk knew the kind of backlash a project such as “The Isle”, or “Seom” which is the film’s original title, would have to face internationally. There are some controversial scenes in the movie. Seom is quite unique. I see a lot of Asian movies, and the most of them are really cool, but this one is s...! (B+). Just look at the message board: Nobody gets the ending, but everyone thinks it's great. Suh Jung plays the mute Hee-jin, who operates a fishing resort, where she rents out small floating cottages and ferries her customers back and forth between land and the floats, controlling the only means of transport around. Share Share Tweet Email. Do yourself a favor and avoid this stinker! All rights reserved. In addition to Chan-wook Park's 2000 film Joint Security Area (see our review here), they are also releasing this other recent Korean film from Ki-duk Kim. J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs & The Church of the SubGenius, Fall TV First Look: Find Out What’s Coming, The Best Peacock Original Shows and Movies, All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action, Animation, Pixar, Marvel, and More.
Review (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); A spooky seaman’s tale, The Isle screened at Norwich Film Festival in 2018 with an introduction from co-writer and director Matthew Butler-Hart. Images of sex, suicide, murder, and people "relieving themselves" are constantly bombarding the viewer, which makes me wonder if the director was trying to communicate the concept of relief or release. Regal In “The Isle” the beauty of the landscape is geographical only on the surface, while also providing a fitting mirror to the character’s emotions and sexuality, which might also explain the change of seasons and weather during the film’s action. "The Isle"'s last images are among the most striking (and unexpected) I've seen in decades. Unforgettable quotes and dialogues... No, no, wait. Coming Soon.

It did make me cringe a little, but I felt it was very relevant to the movie. There is also a lack of period feel, the characters often seeming anachronistically contemporary in their dialogue and behavior, especially in comparison to other historical dramas such as “Lady MacBeth” and “The Woman in Black.”.

It's not even set on an island! This is definitely not a film for all tastes. Although I don't think that I could ever see this movie again, I will say that the director does have a good eye. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. He truly deserves to get his hands cut off and burn alive. The film gives you that heavy, unexplainable, load after watching. study of isolated characters & marginalised experiences takes for its focus an extreme sadomasochistic relationship (modulated through the imagery of fishing), & finds ways to make its characters' fugitive desires become part of the watery landscape. Do yourself a favor and avoid this stinker!