Spring,
Summer, Fall, Winter…Spring is one of the most unique films I have ever
seen. A 2003 South Korean drama by
director Kim Ki-Duk, this film follows the seasons of the life of a Buddhist
monk and his apprentice and shows how these seasons cycle. This film was produced by the following
companies and got an R rating; Korea Pictures, LJ Film, Pandora
Filmproduktion, Cineclick Asia,
Cinesoul,
Mirae Asset Capital, Muhan Investment. For the 103 minutes of this
film there is very little dialogue but the cinematography and sound make sure
the audience is enchanted for the whole duration. This film is great for those who like a good
drama and deep thought, but if your thing is action, adventure and explosions I
would recommend you pass on this one.
With a cast including Oh Yeong-su, Kim Jogn-ho and the director himself
Kim Ki-Duk the acting is spectacular even with its low amount of dialogue. I give this movie a rating of 7.5/10 because
even though it is a masterpiece, it is not for everybody.
This
film follows the life of an old Buddhist monk (Oh Yeong-Su) living on a
floating temple in the middle of a lake accompanied by a young boy, his
apprentice. The film uses the story of
these two in order to outline the seasons of life and its cycle. We begin with the spring of life (the beginning)
where the young boy (Kim Jong-ho) is living with in the temple with his
master. The child seems full of
innocence until an incident including a fish, a frog and a snake show us that
here might be a deeper torment to the child than we can see. After this incident the movie fast forward a
few years into the summer of life when the boy turns into a young man (Seo
Jae-Kyeong). We see a young woman who
comes to live at the temple due to sickness, she is the first human contact the
young monk has had other than his master; by extension she is the first woman
the young monk has ever seen. After
battling his faith and sexuality the monk finally seems to reach a decision and
so love ensues. When the girl is finally
cured and has to leave the temple the young monk has a decision to make whether
to leave or stay. After his decision we
move on to the fall of life where we meet the adult monk (Kim Young-min). This stage is named appropriately since a horrible
decision made by the apprentice has brought him back to the temple in a
run. He is taken in by the old master and
made to repent through Buddhist teaching; however he cannot escape his
punishment. Soon two detectives (Ji
Dae-Han and Choi Min) come to take him away, but not without allowing him to
finish his atonement first. Upon the end
of fall we see the end of the cycle when the old master reaching the end of his
life starts his own funeral rights as if it was the most natural thing in the
world. The scene is peaceful yet morbid
and we are left with no human inhabitants in the temple and so winter
begins. During the winter of life we
meet the old monk who (Kim Ki-Duk) who has come back to the temple after
serving his time. He now takes the place
of his old master and pays his respects to him.
At the end of winter we see a horrid scene as a child is abandoned at
the temple by his mother, who does not meet a happy end in the film. This child is not left as an apprentice to
the old monk and so the new spring start and the cycle of life finally start
back up.
This
film is definitely simplistic in terms of aesthetics and production; however it
is very deep when it comes to meaning and philosophy. Even though most of the movie is masterfully
made what most stands out to help its deep meaning are the use of sound and
cinematography. The cinematography of
this film, Headed by Baek Dong-Hyeon, was expertly used to not only show the
comparison between humans and nature but also to show us the inner workings of
the minds of the characters with very little dialogue. Different shots such as long shots, aerial
shots and scenic shots are used to show us the location of the film which seems
like a dreamland detached from the horrors of modern society. These shots, when they include people, make
the vastness of nature engulf the characters which highlights their small role
in the greater scheme of nature. Cinematography
is also used to supplement the low amount of dialogue in the film by helping emphasize
the inner thoughts of the characters.
Often close ups, reaction shots and Point of View (POV) shots are used
to emphasize surprise, horror and even sorrow.
These moments, such as the use of a POV shot when the mother is
abandoning the baby, transports the viewer into that moment of sadness and
horror by immersing us into the film. In
a similar fashion sound in the film (along with what little music there is) is
used in order to emphasize feeling and help set the mood for the different
scenes. Even though the film has little
dialogue there is never an awkward silence due to the expertly mixed ambient
sounds; these are exceptional in realism with attention to detail where the
wind is louder on top of a hill than it is in the forest. These sounds along with a few chosen music
scores remind us of the location of the scene and also set a mood with a silent
winter becoming very ominous or a loud river adding to the excitement of young
love. The sound production headed by
Konken Stephen and Ku Bon-Seung was spectacular and help made the movie such a
hit. These things made the film but
other aspects surely helped. The lack of
dialogue present in Kim Ki-Duk’s film would normally hurt most pieces; however
it is used here in order to enhance the more insightful aspects of the
film. The costumes in the film are also
brilliantly simple and reflect the state of the characters. The costume for the monks and those in the
temple are simple and show the peace and simplicity of life, however for those
touched by the outside world the clothes are more complex. Finally the props used in the film when there
are any help situate the viewer and tell the story. Props like the stone on the child help
visualize the weight on the heart because of what he did to the animals while
other props such as the different pets serve more practical purposes such as
visualizing the passage of time by the changing of animals. These different aspects help make the film a
hit even though its plot and nature make it specific to certain audiences.
The
actors in this work do a great job of expressing the film as well as providing
fluidity. Even though the apprentice
monk is played by four different actors in different stages of life, they do an
amazing job of providing a fluid character that changes with the years but
remains easily identified. On the other
side Oh Yeong-Su who plays the old master plays the old archetype of the wise
mentor to the T. His acting provides a
constant throughout the changing times and his demeanor is unfazed at every
change in situation. The acting in this
film is superb and touches upon the deepest feelings in human nature.
Overall
this film is excellent in quality and composition; it exhibits what is expected
of a top rank film in both sound and cinematography. However due to the nature of both the film
and the plot it is not a film that will be appreciated by everyone. It possesses a very limited audience which is
dwindling in our current age where people look for more entertainment than substance
in film. Because of this I have to give Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… Spring a
rating of 7.5/10.
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