Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003)

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writer:

Ki-duk Kim (writer)

Release Date:

19 September 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This film takes place in an isolated lake, where an old monk lives on a small floating temple. The wise master has also a young boy with him that teaches to become a monk. And we watch as seasons and years pass by.

Plot Keywords:

Corporal Punishment | Buddhist Monk | Murderer | Buddhist | Love Scene

Awards:

10 wins & 7 nominations

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

Also Known As:

Frühling, Sommer, Herbst, Winter... und Frühling (Germany)
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring (Australia)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexuality.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

South Korea | Germany

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Hungary:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-15 (original rating) | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Mexico:B15 | Netherlands:MG6 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | Chile:14

Company:

Korea Pictures

Trivia:

The inscription on the floor is "The Heart Sutra", one of the most important Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism, written in literary Chinese.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the cops take the young adult monk away and the old monk is standing on the monastery watching, a fine monofilament can be seen pulling the boat, which is ostensibly floating on the current, back to the monastery.

Quotes:

Old Monk: Lust awakens the desire to possess. And that awakens the intent to murder.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

A Korean Buddhist allegory; a religious experience

American title: "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...& Spring"

This beautiful film is one to see more than once -- either in the theater (or in your mind's eye).

I found the discussion group on this film (here at IMDb) very helpful in illuminating the symbolism which I partially grasped and in decoding some Buddhist principles. See, e.g., this thread: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374546/board/nest/8123660

The setting and the photography that captures it is strikingly beautiful and satisfying. The issues are so universally human that the Buddhist flavor provides an accent and not a barrier.

The story recounts the growth of a child into his adulthood and his eventual reclaiming of his roots and meaning. While the film deals with other Buddhist principles and symbolic elements, a central part of it reminds me of lines from T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets" which reads (loosely remembered) '...and the aim of all our wandering is to arrive again at the place from which we started and know it for the first time...'

As one sees one cycle end and another begin, it made me wonder about how the old monk first got there and what his life was like.

Symbolic. Complex. Elegantly simple. Beautiful. Evocative. Haunting. Provocative. Gently touching the universal religious and the profound.