Old Monk: "Lust awakens the desire to possess. And that awakens the intent to murder."By Ki-duk Kim
With Yeong-su Oh, Ki-duk Kim, Young-min Kim
I think I met Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring by accident while browsing IMDb. It was possibly a movie similar to something I saw, but it might just be random. Or maybe I was seeing through the top#250 and realized I never saw this one.
An old monk lives in isolation in a house in the middle of a lake. With him lives a young boy who is training to be a monk. One day, the young boy attaches a rock with a string around a fish and laughs at the fish that is painfully trying to swim away. Oblivious to the fact the old monk is watching him, he applies the same treatment to a frog and then a snake. The old monk attaches a string and a rock while the boy sleeps. When the boy wakes up, he complains that he cannot walk because he is attached to a rock. The young monk then realizes it was wrong to do so to the animals and the old monk tells him to go free the animals. If any of them died, then the young monk will have a heart of stone for all his life.
Years passes and the boy grows into a young adult when a young woman comes visit them to cure her bad health, the monk quickly falls for her. The woman first ignores him but they soon fall in love and sex comes naturally after. The old monk who ends up seeing them does not blame the young monk, but as the woman's health is much better, tells them that it was the right cure. Once the woman is healed, she prepares to leave-- a painful departure for the young monk, who one morning, abandons the lake and flees... But he is bound to return some day.
First of all, I have to say that this was one of the most beautiful movies I have seen. Not only the scenery, but the house in the middle of a lake and in the middle of a valley is absolutely stunning, and the passing of the seasons--which are not only metaphorical of the life of a person and the emotional states of their mind--are also filmed in their respective corresponding season. This all adds up to create scenes of rare splendor.
There is a real clever economy of dialogue. There aren't many to begin with, but the ones present are carefully picked and always speak volumes. The relationship between the old and the young monk (who is played by a different actor in each and every season) is complex but a pleasure to watch. I admittedly haven't deciphered all the symbolism, for example, I don't know if there is an explanation as to why each season finds them having a different pet with them, but I am certain there are explanations.
I was most stunned with the winter scenery when the water turns to ice. The movie has a lot to say about the cycle of life, the cycles through life and the repetitive wheel of fate. It seems to have quite a fatalistic take on life as the mistakes of our childhood can carry through a whole life, or maybe this is simply a symbol.
It was one of the hardest movie to choose a snapshot from as it had so many beautiful ones. In a way, I wish that the two young people didn't have sex, it seemed too simple to have them go for it simply because they are the only two in a deserted place. I wanted the young monk to show remorse or guilt in regard of his faith but very little of it was used. This is only a detail and I think that quite realistically what happened in the movie is what would happen in most cases.
The movie is a tour de force. The filming must have been a patient task over different seasons but also for the actors, especially the one playing the adult monk (who is in fact the director) and how he had to walk on a lake of ice, fall, etc. There are such beautiful scenes around the pond, whether it's the ice sculpture or the young boy who is smaller than the head of the Buddha. And the wooden doors with paintings that open for every season on a new scenery. The doors could be another theme as the doors in their house were quite interesting.
I liked: The scenery. The economy of dialogues. The evolution of a person. Asceticism and faith. It's a film that can't leave you indifferent.
I disliked: Is it pessimistic? Fatalistic? It is hard to decide. I found the segments of Spring and Winter superior to the rest.
93/100
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Movies with a capital m, the ones that hold a message, a meaning.
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