psalas98 The overall idea of the film is beautiful, but you can find that out in five minutes by reading a summary of what happens. Not worth an 1 hr 45 minutes of your life. Just read a summary and you'll get the same thing out of it. The cinematography is not really very beautiful (which would maybe be a reason to watch the film) and it moves incredibly slowly.

dinarayessimova The movie "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" directed by a vanguard Korean director Kim Ki Duk is a pure illustration and the reading of the Buddhist dharma, core Buddhist teachings. The work can be torn apart into separate pieces of symbolism, yet seen as a complete cyclic work of art. Through the cyclicality of the nature and the life of one person the director could interpret basic Buddhist concept in a lens of cultural Korean Buddhism and the mystical premises which should not be taken presisely. Unlike Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" the cyclicality as an essential part of the Buddhist dharma has been shown from a slightly different perspective. The driving force for samsara has not only been the deed of one person, as we have partially observed from Uncle Boonmee, Kim Ki Duk illustrated cyclicality in all aspects of the world: from the rotation of day and night, change in seasons to the evolution of human emotions and senses to the change in generations. Even the title of the movie cyclical, as the Buddhist teachings suggest that time is not linear rather cyclical. Here the viewer comes back to the point zero at the end of the movie as well. It has been illustrated not only through the return to the spring season, which can be seen as the point of rebirth: we see the monk with the little boy both in the beginning and in the end. Other seasons can also be seen as other processes of this cycle: summer is birth, fall is life and winter is death. They can be in different levels at the same time: the development of nature, life of the old monk and life of a little boy. Even though the movie represents the small sangha, the monastic community, everything depicted by the director should not be taken literary, because it involves mystery, which is not explained by the movie. For example, even small details of the monastic life have not been shown and can raise some question: for example, the sources of food they have used to live. Another controversial moment in the movie is the one when the little boy has arrived on another shore and played with fish, frog and snake (which has been shown for the didactic reasons, as the viewer gets to see later), the old monk has also somehow arrived at that side of the shore, possibly just walking on the water. Leaving this questions without the answer, the director almost points out on the fact that even though the representation of the Buddhist livelihood seems more or less accurate, it should not be taken without a doubt. Despite this, Kim Ki Duk masterfully showed 3 Jewels on Buddhism: the Buddha, who has been depicted several times throughout the movie, Sangha, monastic community, and the Dharma, Buddhist core teachings. Even the Dukha, the suffering, which is the main driving force of Samsara, has been shown not only through different types and degrees of physical pain, but also through the moral dissatisfaction and psychological suffering: "Didn't you know beforehand how the world of men is? Sometimes we have to let go of the things we like. What you like, others will also like," - as the old monk commented after the younger one's return to the temple.Even though the movie includes a lot of controversial moments, it could masterly introduce to the viewer core concepts and teaching of Buddhist community, however, the viewer should take responsibility to filter and polish the information.

sharky_55 The title gives away the structure. It is Spring, and a floating temple is surrounding by an idyllic lake and mountains all around. A young boy giggles endlessly while abusing animals in the most unusually cruel way, and no doubt Kim Ki-duk has inflicted this in real life as it is on the screen, leading to that entire end sequence being cut in the US. Not that I agree with animals cruelty, but there is nothing to be gained and much to be lost by removing the entire ending of a film. Upon being discovered by his master, the boy has his own cruelty imposed on him, and the young actor's ability to laugh and gurgle so unmoved from his acts but also sob endlessly is marvellous. A stone is placed in his heart, and its burden remains for much of his young life. Summer opens as all the other seasons do, with the creaky beckoning of the doors of the archway which often frames the floating temple. Now it provide a docking point in the heat of summer, while at other times it is half submerged by the tide. It provides a purely symbolic function, much like the wall-less door in the temple itself, but signifies the devotion of the Buddhist lifestyle that is marred when the now teenage boy commits theft and flees. He is blossoming sexually, wrapped up by carnal desire, but is also conflicted enough to pray relentlessly and tearfully upon his defeat to temptation. The first instance of sex is framed by a extreme wide shot of the two against the rocky shore of the lake, and I am struck by how much this seems like animalistic behaviour in the wild, of filming a documentary where two creatures unexpectedly give into their biological functions. The master is not furious when he catches him, but warns that a strand of lust and desire will lead to greater wrongs. He carries two items as he flees, heartbroken; the rooster is a purely selfish act, while the statue is the weight of the teachings that cannot be separated. The last shot is of sunlight being pushed out of frame by storm clouds.Fall brings orange leaves and the boy back, now a young man and having committed murder because of his undying love. This is tragic because it shows the pitfalls of the religion and also the solitary lifestyle; he has been taught to repress such desires and has not adequately understood love, and so chases after a woman who, he has shared more sexual experiences than words with. The rock is at its most heaviest here. And yet the master is once again not furious, but wholly accepting. He beats him not for the murder he has committed, but for trying to escape its consequences through suicide. Kim di-Kuk masterfully imbues a peaceful silence as the man carves out his repentance (an admittedly cheesy moment when the master silences the gunshots with well thrown rock). Even the two policemen become swayed by this peace. As he is taken away for physical punishment, there is a achingly beautiful time lapse shot where the water and leaves tremble, and the temple slowly but surely floats across serenely. This signifies the end of the master's life, having done all he has done. There will be another master.Winter, and the lake is frozen in time. In an incident of karma, a veiled woman arrives, proceeds to abandon her son, and pays dearly with her life. The middle aged man, nearly complete in his repentance and understanding, merely accepts this as it is, just as his master did so long ago. We do not see her face, but does it matter? It could be any of us. The soundtrack is at its most dramatic here. A tense orchestration strikes up as he begins a training montage, moulding and sculpting his body according to the meditative teachings, acquiring peace of mind. He gracefully poses upon the slippery surface without the least bit of concern - he has mastered the surface, and the water that he once struggled with so much. To complete his journey, he once again inflicts the punishment of the animals. The traditional ode Jeongseon Arirang is particularly lifting as he beings the ascent to the mountain. Crosscut are a frog, fish and snake struggling and writhing, mirroring his pain. It has been merely an hour in runtime since those childhood actions, but it feels like a lifetime. Life returns us to Spring, and again we have a young boy torturing animals, and showing a lack of awareness of what is to come. But the final shot offers a different perspective, of the Buddhist statue overlooking the lake and its temple, framed and isolated by the power of nature. The cycle of life and birth and reincarnation has brought us back to this point, but the trials and tribulations of a man promises release from this never-ending cycle. The colours and words of the Heart Sutra are now faded, but its lessons remain.

tao902 Exquisitely shot film about a Buddhist Master and the young boy apprentice he teaches. Set in Korea on a tiny floating monastery in a breathtaking, changing landscape of lake, woods and mountains. The film is structured into sections for each season.The story follows the life of the young boy through to manhood. During his teenage years he has a sexual encounter with a teenage girl and he leaves after the monk expresses his displeasure. The apprentice finds it difficult to integrate with the outside world and after he has killed his wife he returns to the monk who puts him through strict penances. Eventually the monk realises his time to die has arrived and he sets out across the lake in a boat built as a funeral pyre. A woman visits the monastery, wanting to leave her baby there, and upon her departure slips under the frozen surface of the lake. The apprentice takes over as the new master and brings up the baby as an apprentice.The film encompasses the relationship between old and young, man and nature with compassion and humour.