Things I Watched: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring Is Just Buddhist Stuff
For a film set entirely within the confines of an isolated Buddhist monastery it’s amazing how eventful Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring feels. Korean director Kim-Ki Duk’s drama is not just a good film in its own right, but an application in cinematic thoughtfulness. It evinces plenty of Buddhist philosophy and offers a contemplative journey, relevant for anyone concerned with the passage of time. The story is split into five parts, each representing a specific season. Several decades are covered across the whole with events taking place over a period of fifty years. Generally speaking, these always concern two Buddhist monks: people whose vices and virtues develop and change much like the seasons themselves. The film begins in early Spring with the focus on a young boy. Abrogating the stoicism of his elder, he's provided an early life-lesson when he's chastised for attaching rocks to the local wildlife. Informed that he’ll' carry that same rock in his...