Page Index Toggle Pages: [1] 2  Print
Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003) (Read 11,682 times)
apple
Platinum Member
*****
Offline


BA Member

Posts: 686
Location: the moon
Joined: 02. Aug 2003
Gender: Male
Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003)
15. May 2004 at 03:35
Print Post  


(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring (15)

Drama (2003) 102mins (with subtitles) S Korea

Director: Kim Ki-Duk

Starring: Oh Yeong-su, Kim Jong-ho, Seo Jae-kyeong

An elderly monk takes a 10-year-old boy as his apprentice, tutoring the youngster in the ways of Buddhism.

Many years later, the now teenage boy falls in love with a girl who has come to the monastery to heal.

He abandons his teachings to pursue an amorous liaison with her.

The apprentice returns as a twenty-something man, now a fugitive from the law.

His master teaches him the perilous road to redemption. Many years pass and the apprentice returns to embrace his new role as a master to a young apprentice.
******

showing in london this week.

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
« Last Edit: 04. Jul 2008 at 15:07 by Zabladowski »  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
cal-Q-L8
Platinum Member
*****
Offline


Admin

Posts: 8,002
Location: Australia
Joined: 30. Oct 2001
Gender: Male
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #1 - 15. May 2004 at 06:46
Print Post  
Thanks for starting a thread about this movie apple.

'Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom'
..Wow is that a difficult title to remember or what  Smiley

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
Sir Jacob
Global Moderator
*****
Offline


Big Daddy...The Message
Master.

Posts: 2,381
Joined: 30. Oct 2001
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #2 - 15. May 2004 at 11:59
Print Post  
<i>Wow is that a difficult title to remember or what?</i>

Yes.   Grin

Thanks, though, Mr. apple.   Smiley

Love,
Sir J
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
boy55
Silver Member
***
Offline


BA Member

Posts: 146
Joined: 14. Apr 2004
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #3 - 15. May 2004 at 21:28
Print Post  
Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003)
             
Directed by
Ki-duk Kim

Writing credits
Ki-duk Kim

Plot Outline:
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.

Credited cast:
Yeong-su Oh      ....       Old Monk (as Young-soo Oh)
Ki-duk Kim      ....       Adult Monk
Young-min Kim      ....       Young Adult Monk
Jae-kyeong Seo      ....       Boy Monk
Yeo-jin Ha      ....       The Girl
Jong-ho Kim      ....       Child Monk
Jung-young Kim      ....       The Girl's Mother
Dae-han Ji      ....       Detective Ji
Min Choi      ....       Detective Choi
Ji-a Park      ....       The Baby's Mother
Min-Young Song      ....       The Baby
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Min-young Song      ....       The Baby
  (more)

User Comments:

Summary: Puzzling poetry

    [s p o i l e r s]

    A tiny temple floats rafted on a lake, surrounded by mountains and trees in a gorgeous nature preserve in Korea. A boy is in the care of an austere, calm religious man. The boy is playful and silly, but his play turns wicked. As he and the old man do their daily foraging on nearby land for food, the boy discovers a cruel game: he ties stones to a fish, a frog, and a snake to hamper their movements. The holy man crawls around watching him, saying nothing (the movie has almost no dialogue), instead tying a big stone to the boy's back while he's sleeping. When the boy awakens he tells him: go and find the fish, frog, and snake and set them free, and if any of them have died you will carry that stone in your heart for the rest of your life. The fish and snake have died, and the boy weeps inconsolably. And that is the end of "Spring."

    `Summer' comes and the boy has become a young man. He succumbs to lust when a beautiful young woman who is sick is brought to the temple to stay. The youth and the girl sneak off frequently to have sex, flopping like fish on the rocks. The priest knows what's going on, but says nothing, till it turns out she has been cured -- by the lovemaking, it seems -- and he says she must leave. He warns his disappointed pupil that lust leads to possessiveness and possessiveness to murder. An abrupt sequence, that: alternatives and subtleties are omitted. The youth's response is to abandon his teacher, sneaking off in the night on the rowboat with a small – stone -- Buddha statue in a sack on his back.

    In subsequent seasonal segments we learn that the young man has suffered dire consequences in the world. In the "Fall" segment he returns; is taken away and punished; and at the end, in the "Winter" segment, returns honed to physical perfection and walks across the frozen lake, ready to replace the priest and take on his own boy pupil, brought by a woman one can only describe as masked in shame. Spring comes again and the cycle starts over.

    "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring" (does the title sound catchier in Korean?) has been greeted with such reverence there hasn't always been much analysis, and it's full of puzzles and challenges. First of all, there is the eternal conflict over the relative validity of active and contemplative lives. The boy who's taught not to be cruel to animals by the equally cruel method of having a stone tied to his own back, and who weeps so bitterly when he learns he's caused the fish and snake to die, isn't prepared by his life in the tiny temple to resist lust when the young woman comes to visit. He's told by his holy teacher that lust leads through possessiveness to murder, and after he runs away he indeed murders his wife out of jealousy. Very good for us to see this validation of the guru's causal sequence, but what good were the his teachings or his methods for the boy turned into a man, if he returns to the lake filled with rage and pursued by police detectives? Could it be that the teacher can't really teach; that the peaceful Buddhist retreat, which is all an invention by the Christian-trained (not Buddhist) Ki-duk Kim, is a nice place to get away to – perhaps one of the most gorgeous places ever filmed, the more so as seen gloriously transformed through the four seasons – but not a place where one can learn how to live in the world?

    It is helpful to have been told since seeing the movie that in Buddhist tradition holy men know the moment of their deaths and that the priest's self-immolation on the boat is therefore a logical and necessary ritual within such tradition. Also valuable to learn, post-viewing, that remains of holy men are deemed precious jewels: hence the accolyte's carving out of the frozen boat where the old man has died and planting pieces in the Buddha he has carved in ice. But who can explain the woman without a face, her head swathed in a mauve cloth, bringing a weeping boy? Why does the priest write the sutra using the ink-dipped tail of a whining cat? Why does the priest, immitating his angry former pupil, paste papers over his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth with the word "shut" written on them at the moment he accepts death? Is this idiosyncratic avantgardism or reference to another Buddhist concept?

    No doubt the fact that the role of the grownup acolyte who once was the boy playing cruel games with small animals is taken by three different actors -- the last the martial-arts-skilled director Ki-duk Kim himself -- means that all these experiences are universal and have happened to many men. But this is a movie, and it would succeed better as a movie if its seasonal segments worked either as completely separate short stories or as a running story with well-established continuity. Let us also note that distracting visual beauty can be counterproductive in a movie that means to be intellectually stimulating. It's no accident that more than one writer has called the effect of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring `hypnotic.' In a state of hypnosis we may learn nothing, or we may forget what we've learned.

    To a non-Buddhist the movie indeed seems steeped in Buddhism. But like so many religious idylls, it preaches to the converted. There are those of us who will leave the theater entranced but unconvinced. And the persistent harshness and cruelty of this movie, so serene and lovely on the surface, will also leave a troubling impression. Ki-duk Kim shows a notable gift for combining dream-like fable with fabulous scenery; he certainly coats his doctrinal pills – if that's what they are – in lovely and memorable images. But however exquisite looking and provocative this movie is, it's not for everyone. As the priest's unsuccess with his pupil suggests, religious teachings only bear fruit on fertile ground. One may walk out feeling it doesn't all hang together or make enough sense without an exegesis, though sometimes it's also too free with bald truisms.


(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
boy55
Silver Member
***
Offline


BA Member

Posts: 146
Joined: 14. Apr 2004
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #4 - 15. May 2004 at 21:33
Print Post  
Summary: The Fifth Season Is For Renewal

    SOME SPOILERS UNAVOIDABLE

    In music and literature as well as in film, the cycle of seasons often is a profound leitmotif for the stages of human experience. Rarely has that association been so beautifully and exquisitely portrayed than in the Korean film, "Spring Summer Autumn Winter...and Spring." The "fifth" season reflects not only the Buddhist concept of eternal cycles but it also encompasses a compelling universality.

    While the seasons change in normal progression, years pass between each one, a technique that allows the unfolding of a rich story of growth, love, loss and redemption.

    Set in a gorgeous Korean landscape outside, wholly, the bustle of a modern industrialized society, all the scenes take place on either a floating temple in a calm lake or in its immediate vicinity. A monk in the first spring is the only caretaker but also teacher of a little boy. Childish acts of cruelty to animals delight the child until a tough lesson from the master molds his awakening conscience.

    With summer comes a young woman accompanied by her mother, both dressed in comfortable, stylish western garb. The daughter is ill, coughs betraying a non-specific malady. Why she has been brought to the monk is never stated but the expectation is for a healing sojourn.

    Now a young man, the acolyte falls either in lust or in love with the woman. Their sexual congress is proclaimed by the master as an obviously necessary cure for the woman's illness but he warns the smitten youth that in the outside world love and violence are intermingled. Hardly surprisingly, the man departs with the woman for life outside the rituals and teachings of Buddhism.

    And then comes autumn and the anguished young man is back. He married the woman and it didn't work out. In fact it worked out so badly that two detectives arrive to arrest him. Now wizened but still wise, the master concocts an act of spiritual expiation to unburden the tortured fellow's soul. Even the cops fall under the monk's spell.

    Winter brings the now matured and hardy former disciple back to the temple where he begins to repeat his now deceased master's simple life. And as he once was brought to the old master, now a mysterious woman brings a baby boy to the temple, a child she can not keep.

    And spring again...the symbol of renewal but also repetition.

    This is a brilliant film that distills a great moral tradition into a tale that uses the passage of a little over a year to illustrate much of the human experience. You don't have to be especially interested in Buddhism to savor the strengths, weaknesses and temptations moving across the screen.

    10/10

*

Summary: A beautiful Korean Buddhist pastoral

    If you are not familiar with the basics of Buddhism, you will be after watching this movie. You might not realize it, and you won't know the terminology, but this whole movie is not only about a boy who becomes a man and then raises a boy, but also about the core Buddhist beliefs.

    (NOTE: Some of the following comments might spoil some of the plot elements. However, the official movie website has a "synopsis" that spoils the entire plot, without explaining the Buddhist themes, so at least this review is better than that!)

    The first lesson we see is that creating suffering for others, no matter if they are fish or snake or frog or person, causes suffering for yourself. Most people know this as Karma.

    The second lesson is that desire causes suffering. The Old Monk warned the Young Monk of this, but the Young Monk did not resist, and ruined most of his life as a result. (I laughed very hard when Yoda, in Star Wars Episode I, explains this same lesson: "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.")

    If you listen carefully to the conversation between the monks, you will understand both how desire causes suffering, and how letting go can prevent the suffering.

    The third lesson is that you can purify yourself and get rid of the negative thoughts that cause desire and suffering. Some people achieve this by studying the teachings, some by meditating, and some by spiritual tasks, such as repeated bowing or chanting. The Young Monk, instead, drags a millstone and a statue of Tara, the Compassion Buddha, up to the top of a mountain overlooking the lake, where she can keep an eye on things.

    The fourth lesson is that the cycle repeats, and does not necessarily have to degrade because of the imperfections of the people involved. The Young Monk purified himself and became a capable teacher, and the teachings also transcend the imperfections of the teachers.

    In addition to these lessons, the movie touches on some of the superstitions about Buddhism which want for a little explanation. These appear in the scenes where the Old Monk leaves this life.

    Most important is the fact that the Old Monk, like many famous very enlightened Buddhists are reputed, can tell he is about to die. He therefore is able to prepare himself. Some Buddhists, especially enlightened masters, are cremated. Since there is no one to help him, the Old Monk builds his own funeral pyre and then sits in it. It's not suicide -- he knows that he will die soon, and picks the moment of his death, as great masters are reputed to be able to, just before the flames engulf him.

    We also see a snake emerge from the pyre, and we kind of get the idea that the snake is a reincarnation of the Old Monk. You will find this kind of thing in Buddhist legends, as well.

    When the Young Monk returns, he digs in the ice for remains of the Old Monk. In Buddhist lore, these remains are considered magical and sacred, as if the Buddhist teachings themselves were somehow compressed into fabulous jewels (some of the remains are said literally to resemble jewels). In civilized areas, these remains are often put in special monuments called stupas, and these monuments literally radiate peace and enlightenment into the surrounding area.

    However, the Young Monk instead wraps the remains in a cloth and puts them into a Buddha sculpture made of ice. In this way, the remains are released into the water when the ice melts, and this will release the purified goodness into the area for the benefit of all the entities in the area.

    But put all that aside, and you'll still see a beautiful fable about peace and sanctity and about how it's possible to regain them even if you've gone far away, and about how each life has its own chance to achieve them.

    I know I'll be buying the DVD and watching it often.

*

Summary: SYMBOLISM AND MEANING

    At the risk of boring you all senseless here are some observations off the top of my head.

    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 beginning 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.

    THE SEASONS The endless cycle of birth, growth and death.

  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
Zabladowski
BA Moderator
*****
Offline


The Wish Meister

Posts: 2,656
Location: USA
Joined: 30. Oct 2001
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #5 - 16. May 2004 at 00:04
Print Post  
This is currently playing at a theatre near me. I just may have to get out there and see it.

Thanks for the tip.
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
boy55
Silver Member
***
Offline


BA Member

Posts: 146
Joined: 14. Apr 2004
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #6 - 16. May 2004 at 20:07
Print Post  
Hi Zabladowski;

Excuse me, Do you think my post with any problems yet?

Please contract me, make sure, Let me know ok. If anyone gets upsets or against me. I don't means bother
or in trouble.See, I straight hard work and hard time for them.Hope anyone understand my feel!! I love all so much!! I am alone home myself. My family gone in the heaven few years ago.  I proud of all so much as sweeties. I bless all!!

Love,
boy55  Wink
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
zork
Silver Member
***
Offline


BA Member

Posts: 180
Joined: 15. Dec 2003
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #7 - 16. May 2004 at 22:08
Print Post  
More pics :   Smiley

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

And the movie poster:

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
cal-Q-L8
Platinum Member
*****
Offline


Admin

Posts: 8,002
Location: Australia
Joined: 30. Oct 2001
Gender: Male
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #8 - 17. May 2004 at 10:09
Print Post  

boy55...
thank you for posting the above info...  I found it to be very interesting indeed.

zork,
Thanks for those excellent pics.
« Last Edit: 04. Jul 2008 at 15:06 by Zabladowski »  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
josephk
Platinum Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 3,981
Location: Canada
Joined: 01. Apr 2002
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #9 - 20. Aug 2004 at 00:07
Print Post  
I just saw this at the theatre. It has an extremely high rating on IMDb and almost all the comments are very positive. But...

I HATED IT!!

In fact, I just had to opportunity to use the new "don't bother" feature in my review on the film's profile.

Here's what I wrote:

"I'm getting so sick of these "soft" foreign films designed to please American (and international) audiences. This film is like a self-parody of what mainstream American audiences expect from foreign films - beautiful images, not much dialogue (cause they hate to read subtitles) and a spiritually uplifting story. Please excuse me while I puke."

For the record, there are two segments (the first and the last) that feature a boy. The first is probably around 15 minutes, the last is very short. Nor really worth the effort if that's all you're interested in, in my opinion.

But, you know, you probably shouldn't listen to me. Since the rest of the world seems to agree that this is a wonderful film. (You should read that comments are IMDb. People are extatic over this one.)

PS: I also saw The Battle of Algiers at the theatre tonight, and that was absolutely brilliant. And, there's a cute boy in it who has a significant role. I'll try to find pics and create a profile..
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
apple
Platinum Member
*****
Offline


BA Member

Posts: 686
Location: the moon
Joined: 02. Aug 2003
Gender: Male
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #10 - 20. Aug 2004 at 11:22
Print Post  
the battle of algiers is the only movie i've attended which got a standing ovation from the audience.

it's over 20 years since i saw it - so i can't remember what was so wonderful about it.

but i remember the ovation Grin
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
josephk
Platinum Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 3,981
Location: Canada
Joined: 01. Apr 2002
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #11 - 20. Aug 2004 at 12:00
Print Post  
It didn't get a standing ovation at the screening I attended. But I did feel like getting up and applauding as soon as the word "FIN" flashed on the screen.
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
Sir Jacob
Global Moderator
*****
Offline


Big Daddy...The Message
Master.

Posts: 2,381
Joined: 30. Oct 2001
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #12 - 20. Aug 2004 at 12:46
Print Post  
It's funny you should mention 'The Battle of Algiers', because just yesterday that was recommended to me because of my past purchases at someplace or other.  I was wondering why, but now I'll go back and read about it.  Smiley

Thanks for the info that there's a boy in it with a significant role, josephk, and for your comments about it, too, apple.

Love,
Sir J
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
YoungArthur
BA Moderator
*****
Offline


Hagrid's Helper

Posts: 1,914
Joined: 09. May 2003
Gender: Male
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #13 - 20. Aug 2004 at 19:53
Print Post  
I went ahead and added the movie to my rental list, even though from the comments here and the Imdb reviews I feel like I've already seen it. Roll Eyes

I enjoyed reading the lead comment at Imdb, attributed to johnwstiles. Grin

My sister would probably love it as she is into the exploration of 'deeper mystical truths'...not to the extent, however, of fostering any sympathy or understanding of brothers who enjoy boys in films. Tongue

So it goes.
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
cal-Q-L8
Platinum Member
*****
Offline


Admin

Posts: 8,002
Location: Australia
Joined: 30. Oct 2001
Gender: Male
Re: Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
Reply #14 - 20. Sep 2006 at 10:20
Print Post  
I've just seen this movie...  it was ok, pretty to look at, but the story, if one can call it that was rather slow. I rated it a 6/10. I'm not into religion of any sort so it failed to inspire me in that regard.

Religion, cruelty, pain and suffering seem to go hand in hand.

Anyway, I noticed that we had Jae-kyeong Seo (Boy Monk) highlighted as a boy actor on the movie's profile. That actor was born in 1982, which would have made him 20 years old or thereabouts so I've unhighlighted his name. The boy in the pics above is Jong-ho Kim (Child Monk).
  
Back to top
 
IP Logged
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: [1] 2 
Print