kviff.com
News
Festival Guide
  • Tickets and Festival Pass
  • Accommodations
  • Transportation
  • Festival cinemas
  • No Barriers project
  • Kids at the festival
  • Festival Shop
Program
  • Catalogue of films
  • Accompanying programme
  • Archive of films
  • Audience award
  • KVIFF Talks
  • Film Entry
Film Industry
  • Industry accreditation
  • Film Industry at KVIFF
  • Industry Days Programme
  • KVIFF Eastern Promises
  • KVIFF Talents
Press
  • Press accreditation
  • Press Service
  • For download
  • Press releases
  • Photogallery
  • Videogallery
About the festival
  • Festival description
  • Programme sections
  • Awards
  • History
  • We support non-profits
  • Photogallery
  • Partners
  • Why We Support the Festival
  • Contacts
CZ
Sign in
Film Archive

The Isle

Kim Ki-duk 2002 / Seom / South Korea 2000

On a remote lake populated with floating huts, Hyun-shik meets a taciturn and mysterious woman named Hee-jin. They become lovers in their water solitude and little by little leave the human world behind. Their powerful physical relationship is played out with ever-increasing tension, smacking of sexuality and death. Water and blood gradually allow pure passion to flow.

The Isle

Synopsis

Kim Ki-Duk’s fourth film created a sensation at the Venice film festival. It takes place in a world filled with portents, which is constructed upon the progressive fusion of an intense sexual relation and a gorgeous landscape. Hyun-shik meets a taciturn and mysterious woman named Hee-jin on a remote lake populated with floating huts. They become lovers in their water solitude and little by little leave the human world behind. Their powerful physical relationship is played out with ever-increasing tension, smacking of sexuality and death. Both mutual cooperation and cruelty dominate the man and woman’s relationship, and external circumstances exacerbate the situation. Hyun-shik killed someone before arriving at the lake, and Hee-jin buries a prostitute in its depths, a young woman who had unwittingly become her adversary. The closeness of their two bodies can allow no room for the kinds of feelings born of social conventions. Water and blood gradually past fatalistic burdens and of everything else that is not in line with an instinctive and wordless passion generating desire and jealousy, fury and utter resignation.

About the film

85 min / Black & white, 35 mm

Director Kim Ki-duk / Screenplay Kim Ki-duk / Dir. of Photography Hwang Suh-shik / Music Jeon Sang-yun / Editor Kyung Mun-ho / Producer Lee Eun / Production Myung Film / Cast Suh Jung, Kim Yoo-seok, Park Sung-hee, Cho Jae-hyun, Jang Hang-sun

Other partners
Newsletter

First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.

Follow us on the web:

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
is part of the KVIFF Group family, which covers other projects as well:

© 2025 KVIFF GROUP

Rules for Visitors / Website visitors privacy policy / GTC / Personal Data Protection / Rules for Claim / Rules and Regulations / Contacts