Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Dae-han Ji, Jong-ho Kim (II), Jung-young Kim (II), Min Choi, Yeo-jin HaBrand: Sony
Primary Contributor: Jong-ho Kim (II)
Primary Contributor: Yeong-su Oh (II)
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: Korean (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-09-07
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Movie Review: Disappointing --
Summary: 3 Stars
Though visually attractive I can't say it's spectacular -- up to the material as intended. Zhang Yimou can visually represent the seasons well beyond that shown here (see his "The Road Home").
The acting is also problematic: the two boys, when each in different "seasons" are being cruel to various animals, "giggle"; it is as if they know they are doing wrong, and the director felt that needed to be broadcast so the viewer didn't miss the fact of cruelty, and that they knew it was wrong. The story, though, indicates that they are both too young to realize they are being cruel, or doing wrong, so they wouldn't be essentially snickering with guilty pleasure as if beleiving they are getting away with fooling the adult monk.
As well, their acting is not in either case convincing: each is obviously acting -- "faking" the "evil"-sounding giggling.
I've been a student of Buddhism for decades; this doesn't achieve the sublimitely or subtlety implied by the DVD artwork, and the rave reviews here.
In short: much too obvious and somewhat heavyhanded handling of that which should have been delicate. At least as delicate as the actress who, by sheer coincidence, with her mother, showed up out of nowhere, without explanation, with some unknown illness, became "pliant," and thereby became the means for the main character to "learn a lesson the hard way".
And another convenient coincidence. The monk warned the main character, about that relationship: "Lust leads to the desire to possess. And the desire to possess leads to murder." Not too much leaping to extremes in that, eh? And, sure enough, years later the monk is reading a newspaper -- the only time in the film he happens to do so, with no explanation where he got it -- and sees the main character's photo, and a report that he's being sought for killing the woman. Karma is one thing, but predicting it in advance is a bit much, when Buddhism puts one's fate not in the stars but in one's own hands.
I wish I could overlook those flaws, but they are simply too blatant to be ignored.
Summary of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
In a tranquil & timeless setting of a temple floating atop a manmade lake in a forest surrounded by mountain spires that cut the monastery off from worldly concern an old monk teaches his young disciple the wisdom of buddha over the many seasons of their lives. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 02/26/2008 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: RWorking miracles with only a single set and a handful of characters, Korean director Kim Ki-Duk creates a wise little gem of a movie. As the title suggests, the action takes place in five distinct episodes, but sometimes many years separate the seasons. The setting is a floating monastery in a pristine mountain lake, where an elderly monk teaches a boy the lessons of life--although when the boy grows to manhood, he inevitably must learn a few hard lessons for himself. By the time the story reaches its final sections, you realize you have witnessed the arc of existence--not one person's life, but everyone's. It's as enchanting as a Buddhist fable, but it's not precious; Kim (maker of the notorious The Isle) consistently surprises you with a sex scene or an explosion of black comedy; he also vividly acts in the Winter segment, when the lake around the monastery eerily freezes. --Robert Horton
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