Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003)
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring Movie Review
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring is a 2003 South Korean drama film directed by Kim ki-Duk. It’s such a beautiful, truly amazing experience.
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“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“
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Its title is correct in describing the movie which is told throughout seasons which act as passages in the characters’ lives. The story cleverly unfolds through these seasons but throughout different periods and it thus achieves epicness in terms of the scope, but is still very much intimate in the emotion of the protagonist as it’s a great character study.
The master himself is caring and dignified and the woman is memorable and an important plot device, but this is almost entirely the monk’s movie. I loved how the film did not name its characters nor the woman’s illness and thus it became very universal in approach. The monk experienced at first hatred toward animals as a child, then he bettered himself, but became sexually attracted to a woman which led to murder and the corruption of the soul. Eventually the circle is repeated once again as the older protagonist takes care of his younger apprentice.
Thus the film achieved its cyclical nature and thus perfectly showcasing the repeated nature of everything in the universe, but still ending on an optimistic note that humans are becoming better and better with each new generation. I loved that a lot.
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But I appreciated the most its portrayal of animal cruelty as well as child hate. This is the reason why I connected to this movie on a personal level as I myself actually tormented and killed animals when I was very young, but now I couldn’t possibly harm even the littlest of creatures. The protagonist is the same in the film as he goes from that hateful to that peaceful state in his lifetime. The film thus not only took a strong stance against animal cruelty, but also truthfully showcased how evil children can really be and how every one of us needs to make sure and make an effort to become better people as initially we are very much sinful and just bad.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring is also amazing in its portrayal of Buddhism. For someone like me who is not particularly well equipped with knowledge when it comes to this particular religion, the movie is perfect as it opened my eyes and showed me the power of this religion and its set of ideas. And just the isolated life in touch with nature and their strive to get rid of their bad impulses and live peacefully led to a very spiritual experience.
Yes, the film manages to feel spiritual, meditative and beautiful which is a huge accomplishment on the part of the director. Now admittedly, as in every movie such as this one, some segments were better than others and I honestly found the first half of the film much more interesting personally (the whole murder part was somewhat unnecessary), but still the second half is pretty good itself with a particularly powerful ending.
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The movie is beautifully shot and simply arresting in its natural landscapes. The serene lake, the beautiful monastery, the animals… everything here looks wonderful and very inviting. The score is great as is the cinematography, but I also admired the sparse dialogue approach and the deliberately slow pacing which fitted so well with the nature of the film. This is one of those movies that are immensely slow, but never at all boring, but rather captivating in its beauty.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring is such an immensely beautiful film which manages to become a spiritual, meditative experience itself owing to stunning imagery at display and deliberately slow pace. It is a slow, but never boring movie as it’s captivating in its universality and ideas. The reason why I personally connected with the film lies in its portrayal of animal cruelty and personal growth, both truthfully and powerfully showcased. It’s impressively epic in approach, but still intimate in its character study. A true gem of Asian cinema.
