Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring

In spring, life's tender whispers bloom on the lake, wisdom's cradle. Summer's passion ignites, fall's reflection, winter's solitude—cycles. Each season's grasp, a lesson learned, rebirth in spring's eternal fable. I was gonna write a Haiku but searched for Korean poetry and learned a little about Sijo. The composition above was written by ChatGPT as I didn't have the time to give it. This is the tale of two individuals. One, an aging monk who has attained enlightenment. The other, a boy whom the monk is raising. Each season represents a period in the boys life as he grows to manhood. It's a beatiful and contemplative film. And I loved I had one question which technically would be a plot whole if unanswered. Surprisingly, they answered it. Highly recommended.

Visually spectacular, with a great atmosphere. Its parable format has some aspects that might sound cheesy or outdated to some, but seen as a modern take on ancient stories, it's quite well made. I thought that the soundtrack was a bit too much at times with its synthesizers, even though the compositions themselves were good. All in all it's good.

There are so many movies laden with Christian symbolism that it makes a pleasant change to watch a movie in which the imagery reflects that of another religion or philosophy. In the case of South Korean director Kim Ki-duk's film, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…and Spring, the symbolism is Buddhist. This may pose challenges for western viewers who are unfamiliar with Buddhism, or with the views of people who live in countries where Buddhism is a leading religion. Why does a man leave a monastery taking a Buddhist icon and a rooster with him? What are the words that the young man carves into the floor of the floating monastery? Why do two characters cover their eyes and mouths with cloth before they attempt to commit suicide? Why suicide in any case? Such images will test some viewer's tolerance, and the slow and steady progress of the film may not be to everyone's taste. The action (or lack of action) unfolds with all the serenity and peacefulness that people associate with Buddhism. The story is told visually, and with minimal dialogue. For viewers who are patient enough to enjoy a film that moves at its own pace, this is a beautiful movie with stunning photography and an attractive and unusual setting. This setting is a floating monastery in an unnamed lake. The location is remote from other people, and it is surrounded by forest and mountains. There are only two leading characters in the film, an elderly master and his apprentice monk. Other people visit the floating monastery, but only in one season. Their actions impact on the two residents of the monastery, but the film is not about them. Despite their centrality to the story, neither the master nor the apprentice is ever named, reflecting the Buddhist belief in the extinction of the self. The film divides into five sections, each representing the seasons indicated in the movie's title. These seasons are not continuous, and there is a gap of several years between each season. They reflect seasons in a human life too – from boyhood to old age. If I question the Buddhist ideas presented in Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…and Spring, am I therefore questioning the value of the film? Does disagreement with some of its ideas mean that I feel the film is not a good one? Certainly not. Every artist uses his medium to present a world that is slanted towards his own beliefs, and Kim Ki-Duk is no exception. What matters here is not whether we agree with the ideas expressed in the film, but whether the film presents them in an intelligent, interesting and aesthetically pleasing way, and it certainly delivers on this score. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…and Spring is a, thought-provoking film that contains arresting imagery and a delicacy of touch. Its gentle soothing pace takes the viewer into a serene world far removed from the whizz-bang of the action movie, and I welcomed that. I wrote a longer appreciation of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/spring-summer-autumn-winterand-spring-2003/

Looks lovely but it dragged and the story is really dark in pretty much every way. Not for me thanks.

My personal favourite Kim Kiduk's movie~

Visually stunning and contemplative, but also full of (minor) plot holes.

Spanning several decades and set primarily on a floating Buddhist monastery located on small lake nestled in the mountains, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring is a film about growth, the human spirit, and the ability to learn from both our own experiences and the experiences of others. Told in five chapters, a young boy is raised by an aging monk and taught about life through the eyes of a Buddhist. Sparse on dialogue, the movie tells its tale primarily through visuals. The cinematography is stunning throughout and, more often than not, the story is told through the facial expressions and actions of the actors. Despite its many attributes, a word of warning is warranted: those not familiar with Buddhism may miss some of the finer points of the movie, so a quick primer would be recommended in order to at least partially understand what the film is driving at.

This arthouse film depicts the cycle of life using the 4 seasons (which can also be recognizable from the title itself). The drama has many beautiful frames and the location of the film itself is mesmerizing. Romance, lust, sin, guilt, redemption, and faith are some of the key themes of this movie

I write this remark, virtually the first time doing so on a website, as I strongly felt like I should. I am a Korean and I was basically born and raised in the religion of Buddhism, although the religion does not have that much interaction with someone's personal life compared to other major religions, at least here in South Korea. So I have a bit better understanding of what the movie is talking about, or what the Director's put into the movie, in terms of the notions he's trying to covey. (Just to add, my religion is not Buddhism at the moment.) I dunno whether it is because the Director passed away (from COVID infection in a 3rd world country where he located himself after sexual abuse allegations) as a consequence of what he is alledged to have done, I find the imagerys on the film to have made and put overly sexual than how it would have been in real life if something like the beggining of the plot had occured in real life. I think the choices of the clothings of the woman were projections of the director's, kind of, fetish. Well, it itself is not immoral or whatever, but I just don't buy projecting his thing--more specifically letting the character wear sexy clothings that the moviemaker likes, or has in mind, into the situation where it simply does not match. More specifically, when someone sends her sick daughter to a Buddhist temple in a deep mountain, and the daughter is physically sick, one wouldn't wear or bring a tight skirt or dress. It's basically the very basic culture of South Korea, taken for granted for almost anybody who has ever been to a temple (especially back in early 2000s, when the culture was more conservative) that one would not wear a kind of clothing that just feels like it does not go with all the deep mountains and wooden temples and religion devoting monks. And for me, knowing how it really is, and was like, deciding to make the plot to put that white tight dress on the ill lady in the temple in the deep mountain was a big no-go. The plot develops further from that item, and it just breakes the integrity of the movie since it does not really much portray or fails to give sone kind of imformation on the real world. And speaking of which, what's with sudden appearance of the school uniform? For a moment I thought the woman still had to go to school but that wasn't the case. Is this another personal desire making its wrong apperance onto the screen? I wonder. Plus, I find not appropriate and not going together with the ture teaching and values of them to mankind, of making the monk have super-human power of pulling the boat just by staring at it. As I understand, the values and teachings of Buddhism is on seeing through the actual meanings of materials and things and pursuits in the world. So that people won't have to go though void pains and sufferings. Somehow believing monks having some sort of superpower is also a thing believed by some crowds, much less in recent times though, in South Korea, and I haven't seen that belief adding any positive values to anybody. Just only mis-notions. Lastly, from reading some books that I have read in what the Buddhist religion is trying to give to humanity, I have no idea and I do not think that it should be the case that the old monk burns himself in the middle of a deep mountian-which in other words would be punishing himself; killing himself. There is in history, where monks set himslef on fire and dying to achieve a certain purpose. This is nowhere encouraged in any book of Buddhism as far as I know; but after so many years you can think of what their true purpose was and what the happening actually brought to the world. It makes you think a lot, but one thing that is certain is that none of them were to punish himself. And personally, I reckon that, what the moviemakers put on the film is wrong. And this wrong notion could have resulted in wrongful thoughts that led to self-killing that actually took place in this country. This is wrong and one should think carefully before projecting this kind of thing into a could-be-widespread medium. People who haven't seen or faced much of oriental culture or the scenes (cultural images and the scenes of nature) might be positively moved by such images on the film. But they are the creation of the culture and nature itself; well-putting those images onto the film is a good thing but one should't confuse and make the mistake of good images of such things in the film leading to valuing the ideas and notions of the director, put inside the movie as good.

Almost no dialog, a sublime story, told beautifully, by "showing not telling."