The Isle

I watched The Isle, and it’s a movie that sticks with you whether you want it to or not. It’s strange, quiet, and really hard to watch at times. Director Kim Ki-duk sets the story on a lonely fishing lake where a mute woman named Hee-jin rents out floating huts to men. Some come to fish, others to drink or meet prostitutes. She sometimes joins in too, but her cold blank face tells you she’s not someone to push around.

Everything shifts when Hyun-shik shows up. He’s running from the law after killing his cheating girlfriend and her lover. Both he and Hee-jin are damaged people, and they form this twisted bond that mixes love, pain, and violence. The movie barely uses dialogue but shows everything through disturbing actions and silent moments between them.

The lake looks beautiful. The mist and water create this dreamlike atmosphere, and even the darkest scenes have something visually striking about them. But that beauty comes with horror. There are scenes involving fish hooks, animal cruelty, and self-harm that are genuinely hard to watch. They stay in your head long after the movie ends.

Suh Jung is amazing as Hee-jin. Without saying a word, she shows so much loneliness, anger, and desire just through her eyes and movements. Kim Yu-seok also does great work as a man drowning in guilt. Together they make one of the strangest and most painful couples I’ve seen in any film.

The movie feels cold though. It’s beautifully shot but sometimes it seems more interested in shocking you than actually saying something. The story drags in places and some scenes feel stretched out for no reason. When it ended, I wasn’t sure what it all meant. The Isle is both beautiful and unbearable. It’s full of sadness and cruelty, showing how lonely people can be. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I can’t ignore its power either.