Foreign films never cease to amaze me. It’s a pity English is the world’s common language. I find myself wishing it was Korean instead. Ok, I know I’m overdoing it now but that’s just how good the movie was. To quote a friend, “Give Hollywood a few million and they can only produce nonstop nonsense chick flicks”. Again, this is exaggerating it, but you get the picture.

The story is simple, but it has many layers, and if you haven’t studied Zen teachings, chances are that the movie’s message will be lost to you, as it was to me till I read up about it.

The entire movie is one life, moving linearly. The movie starts with two doors, sans walls attached, opening. The subtitle read “spring”. The scene is that of a houseboat, where a monk lives with his child disciple. To make the story short, the child learns to treat other beings with respect, and the monk has done a first class job teaching him.

The second season is summer. This part of the movie shows a mother entrusting the monk with her sick daughter, who she believes will be cured by the holy one. The movie moves on to show the child, now a teenager, wooing the girl, and ending his celibate life by making love to her. This seemed to be the right treatment for the girl, who makes a full recovery. The monk comes to know of this, and, expectedly not pleased. Here he says “Lust awakens the desire to possess, and that awakens the intent to murder “. He sends the girl home, much to the displeasure of the boy, who runs away to be reunited with her.

Next, as we all know, comes fall. This shows the boy, now a grown man of 30, coming back to his master, with blood on his hands. Angered at his wife for sleeping with another man, he stabs her and is now running away from the police. Unable to bear it, he tries to commit suicide, but is stopped by the monk. To bring peace to the young man, the monk tells his to carve out a Buddhist mantra on the floor of the houseboat, with the same knife he used to stab his wife. This, he says, is called Prajnaparamita Sutra. The police, who soon catch up to him, arrest him and take him away. The monk now commits holy suicide, which is now made to appear positive.

The final part of the cycle, next comes fall, when he returns, and resumes his celibate life. He is now entrusted with an infant, just like he probably was to his master.

The movie ends just as it began, which I interpret, is the Buddhist philosophy of the universe, not having a birth or an end, but simply dying and being reborn, over and over again.

Something I should say is that a mere review does not do this movie (I’m calling it that for lack of a better word), as it is much more than just a movie. What you have just read is simply a retelling of the story, with my own crude interpretations.

When the boy tries to commit suicide, it is made to appear foolish and premature, and he receives a beating for trying to do so. This type of suicide is just a means to escape from life when it gets difficult. Whereas when the monk does the same thing, it is like letting the soul out of the body and moving on to another life, and is considered holy. Now I can go on and on about it but not many readers will be interested. For those of you who are, follow this link.

http://totaste.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/spring-summer-fall-winter%E2%80%A6-and-spring/

Finally, hats off to director Kim Ki Duk, who, despite being a Christian, has brilliantly understood Buddhist philosophy, and made a mind blowing film about it.

Movie breakup does not apply here, as I am not worthy of rating this work of art :)

A must watch. Please do try to download it.