The Isle

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.

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.

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).

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.

Kim has never been one for light entertainment, and this one certainly isn't. Bizarre, disgusting, awkward, but also beautiful at times.

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

It's beautiful....but.

Every film I've seen by Ki-duk Kim features damaged people searching for a reason and/or way to continue. This movie is beautifully shot and as expected from this director has very little dialogue. The acting is good and the story is intriguing. I wouldn't call this movie entertaining but it is very good.

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.

Really good piano score

Hooked ;) Hard to watch Violent

Hella weird, but awesome.

I found this movie to be disturbing and beautiful at the same time. I definitely need to check out more movies by mister Kim Ki-duk.

Not animal-friendly, but very different.

"While The Isle is both preposterous and thoroughly misogynistic, its vistas are incredibly beautiful to look at." - Ed Gonzalez

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.

If you can watch this without being disturbed by certain scenes you're a tough son of a bitch. As remarked by others, bizarre, disgusting and horrifying, but still strangely intriguing.