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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring Editorial Review:
Shows the life of a Buddhist monk from when he was a child taken in by the temple to his last days as an old man.
Genre: Foreign Film - Other
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-SEP-2006
Media Type: DVD
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant
Stunning cinematography and story. Moves slowly but that is part of the meditation you will find in it. A real relaxation from everyday life.
Original story with troubling questions that remain unanswered
Warning: This review may contain spoilers--'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring', an offbeat film from Korea can best be described as a fable. It focuses on a Buddhist monk who lives in a 'monastery' (actually a small house in the middle of a lake) cut off from civilization. The film has five sequences, each set in successive seasons of the year. However, the action does not occur one season after another--there are gaps in years between each season.
In the first 'Spring' sequence, the monk (who appears to be in his 60s) is mentoring an apprentice, a young boy who appears to be no more than 10 years of age. The boy takes delight in attaching a stone to various creatures he finds in the lake: a fish, a frog and a snake. The monk is appalled by the boy's cruelty and decides to teach him a lesson by attaching a rock with some rope around his back while he sleeps. He orders the boy to find the creatures, untie the stones from them and then he will remove the rock. Foreshadowing violence to come, the monk warns the boy that if any of the creatures dies, this will weigh heavily upon his heart for the rest of his life. Sure enough, when the boy returns, the fish is dead and it appears that the snake might be dead too; he is able to find the frog and remove the string and stone from that creature.
In the next 'Summer' sequence, a mother leaves a young woman with the Monk as she is suffering from some sort of physical malady which is not made clear. The monk indicates that her physical problems will go away once she deals with the afflictions of her soul. The boy, now a young man of about twenty, takes a sexual interest in the young woman who initially rebuffs him. We never learn anything about this young girl's personality and for some reason she eventually gives in to the Young Adult Monk's advances and has sex with him on a number of occasions. When the old Monk finds out about this, he banishes the girl from the monastery but the Young Adult Monk has fallen in love with her and leaves the island to pursue her. Before he leaves, the Old Monk warns the Young Adult Monk that lust can only lead to murder.
In the third 'Fall' sequence, the Old Monk has just returned with provisions he has obtained off the island. While unwrapping a newspaper which contains his lunch, he notices an article stating that his former pupil has murdered the girl that he had years before fallen in love with and was now wanted by the authorities. The former pupil now shows up at the island and makes it clear to the Old Monk that he killed his wife due to her infidelity and that he was still full of rage. In response, the Old Monk paints numerous cryptic characters on the deck of the house and orders his former pupil to carve out the letters one by one with a knife. He explains this will help him overcome his rage. Meanwhile, two detectives appear on the scene and take the Old Monk's former pupil away (presumably out of respect for the reputation of the Old Monk, they wait until daybreak to allow the former pupil to finish carving the letters before he's taken into custody). Later, the Old Monk commits suicide through self-immolation, while sitting inside a rowboat on the lake.
Years pass when we arrive at the fourth "Winter" sequence. The former pupil is now much older and presumably has been released from prison. He returns to his old haunts on the island and once again takes up the disciplined practice of Buddhism which he rejected as a youth. A mysterious woman (her face covered with a shroud) walks across the iced-over lake and leaves an infant in the new monk's care. She mysteriously falls through a hole in the ice and drowns. In an apparent act of repentance for past sins, the new monk attach's a stone to his back and climbs up a mountain overlooking the island.
Finally, there is a coda to the movie--a fifth sequence: spring again! Now life has come full circle. The pupil has now become the master and is teaching the young boy who earlier had been left in his care by the mysterious woman.
Despite the film's originality, troubling questions remain. The young woman who has been brought to the Old Monk to be healed ends up becoming the sexual object of the Young Monk. Even though it's clear that the Old Monk knows that there are highly unethical things going on, he does nothing to prevent his charge from taking advantage of her. His response is to merely banish her from the island. He could have drawn boundaries from the beginning preventing his former pupil from acting the way he did. More troubling is the girl herself. What is it about the Young Monk that attracts him to her? For someone who's had no experience with women, most women would not be attracted to such a bumbling novice. We just don't know enough about the young woman to make us believe that she would take up so easily with the Young Monk.
More troubling is the idea that former pupil would end up a murderer. After all that good work the Old Monk does with the kid, apparently not enough of his good advice sinks in. Why exactly does the Young Monk become so jealous that he would resort to killing the woman he has fallen in love with? Most people do not become obsessed as the Young Monk does and the film's creator never explains why. Instead, there's a simple suggestion that everything here is predestined. Still, 'SSFW..and Spring again' features beautiful cinematography and gets high marks for being an original story which will keep your interest to the end.
Most Thought Provoking Film
When I first saw SSFW&S in February 2009 (from the library), I was a little confused with the meaning of the ending. But the more I thought about it and slept on it, the more I understood, why. Had to buy the DVD. Absolutely wonderful sincere entertainment. This movie changes life's.
In my top three films, along with: Life is Beautiful and, A Face in the Crowd.
Buhhist teachings
THE HUT
Representing the self. All the possessions and shelter needed is on the floating hut. When the young man can no longer live at peace and comfort in the hut then bad things transpire. He never commits lustful acts in the hut. When we seek happiness outside ourselves, we are never truly content.
THE DOORS
The doors by the lakeside and in the hut are symbolic rather than prescriptive. The fact there are no walls means their use is not forced but elected. They represent morality and discipline. Morality is not defined by a higher power but by society and the self. By adopting the constraints the doors engender, self-discipline is attained. As soon as the young man transgresses these self-imposed boundaries, to sneak across to the young woman, then disaster follows.
THE DEAD ANIMALS
The Master allows the young boy to let the animals die. He does not become an all powerful father figure, cleaning up after him, but allows him to make mistakes and suffer the consequences. Buddhism does not have a higher power but rather promotes self-awareness.
THE MILLSTONE AND BUDDHA
Represent the twin stones of regret for killing the fish and the snake. What you do unto others, you do unto yourself. He has carried that karma around with him all his life until he transcends them both, carrying them to the top of the hill, near heaven. Here he cuts himself free and attains redemption through struggle.
THE MASTER
Is a great teacher, but does not lecture. Hardly a word is spoken, but lessons are learned. A good teacher points the way for a student to discover self-evident knowledge for themselves.
THE MOTHER
The veil, representing guilt and shame are ultimately the cause of her downfall. Hiding from the outside world can bring about ruin.
THE YOUNG BOY
Both at the beggining and the end, represents us. A good life is attained not by the absence of bad thoughts, but rather by their mastery, so they have no hold over us. We choose our behaviour rather than it choose us. The new boy is not born without sin, but rather must walk his own path to divinity. The same actor playing the young boy show the eternal cycle of the human soul.
One of my new favorites
Over the last year, I have realized my passion for Asian films and this one tops them all. In one simple statement, it is the most beautifully afflicting story about the simplicity of humanity and th perpetuity of life that I have ever seen. Admittedly, you have to be in a certain frame of mind to watch it, because there is not much dialogue and it is quite long, but it is soo worth the watch. You cry just for the beauty of everything in the film - the people, the scenery, the message, the simplicity.... if you have the opportunity to buy/see this film, DO NOT HESITATE. I will forever sing the praises of "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring" :D
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