It's equally hard to watch and understand. As always, Ki-Duk finds beauty in silence and nature, although not as much as in his later works.

"An artistic, shocking love story that disturbed audiences and confused almost all critics that couldn't see beyond the disturbing images... Its only flaws are the too frequent scenes of nastiness and the artsy semi-happy ending that isn't visually in line with the rest of this gripping, poetic piece."

The most poignant dissection of a relationship since Fando y Lis. The difference is this film does not concentrates on the schizophrenic oscillations between love and hate, but rather paints a staggering picture of romanticism inside cynicism (quite literally in the very end). It's all about finding the warmth in what's dead and soulless, finding a bizarre fantasy world in pathological neuroses, and building lust into love. Truly mesmerizing.

The beauty of its imagery is in sharp (no pun intended) contrast to the cringeworthy and self-destructive actions of its characters, making it a strangely seductive but difficult film to watch. I thought the ending was a bit rushed and contrived, but that's a minor flaw in a film with such a well-defined and assured sense of style and mood.

Bizarre, poetic, and horrifying all at once. It plays out as a twisted, allegorical battle of the sexes, with sexual power plays leading to a weirdly touching interdependence (if "love" is too strong a word). Moments of serenity are interrupted by violent acts of self-mutilation, and one or two deaths just for good measure. And yet it's amazingly organic, and leaves a lasting impression of beauty as opposed to horror.

Lots of laughs in an old-fashioned-freak-out kind of way and plenty of amphibigious (word!) symbolism to keep it in the vein of classic Ki-Dukhism

This movie has some brilliant sequences but ultimately doesn't work too well. The symbolic scenes at the end are awkward, and some of the symbols throughout are either too heavy handed or awkward. Also, the score is terrible. One of Kim's lesser features, in my opinion.

This story is highly symbolic. Fishing gear is male and fishes are females (or sex). Actually the leading girl is a mermaid. She cannot talk (but can call a phone!). There is a lot good scenes, but all together they do not build a compact entirety. The lead actress is excellent choice. But the score is bellow any standards. Men are using women even brutally, but they are greatly depended on them (or at least on the girl).

Hella weird, but awesome.

Just plain disturbing and un-entertaining to watch. Whatever symbolism is supposed to be here is at the bottom of the lake, which I'm not interested in diving in to.