Even with little to no knowledge of Buddhism, anyone can come away from seeing Kim Ki-duk’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and…Spring feeling spiritual. This film is makes a very strong connection to nature and leaves the viewer feeling awakened to the basic principles that govern life. The film deals heavily with the cycles of life and a way in which to understand it from the Buddhist perspective. Buddhism is different from other religions in that its followers do not pray to a God but meditate on a basis of principles that are grounded in rationality. Bhuddist teaches its followers to learn, through medititation, to reject human desires in order to reach a place of enlightenment where one can be full of love and kindness and bring no harm to any living thing. Therefore the life of a Buddhist monk is a life ruled by simplicity, where worldly desires are furthest away. In the Buddhist way of thinking it is important to remove cravings because cravings of decadent things leads to bad judgement and ill deeds. Through meditation, Bhuddists strive to get to a place physiologically where they can be eternally at peace with nothing. This is the ultimate goal of a Buddhist to achieve enlightenment or arrive at Nirvana. In Spring, Summer… Kim Ki-duk successfully delivers a strong Buddhist message with beautiful visualizations and a touching narrative that is centered around an aging monk raising a young boy in the life a a Buddhist. This film envelopes Buddhist self-preservation from every aspect.In Buddhism, it is important to have compassion that is undiscriminating and all-embracing. All living things in the world have their place and function. Spring, Summer… illustrates this idea and Ki-duk does a brilliant yet subtle job in emphasizing the importance of nature. The film is set at a Monastery floating in the middle of a lake. The landscape is serene and liberating in all seasons. An example of this that is very effective is his first shot. The camera seems to be placed in the brush of the forest. A three hundred year old tree looms to the right and frames the picture with its delicate sweeping branches. The standing doorway invites the viewer into this place that is detached from the outside world where a person is one with nature. In the center of the frame the Monastery floats peacefully in the middle of a picturesque lake. This shot definitely sets the tone for the entire film. Ki-duk repeats this shot throughout the film. In each season it is equally beautiful and simple but is different simply because of the cycle of the seasons. This one shot therefore, reflects the entire cycle of life which is indicative of the film's overall theme. Ki-duk also embeds this idea in the narrative. The main plot in the first “Spring” section revolves around an important lesson the old monk teaches the boy. Ki-duk uses a subtle sequence to introduce the connection the boy has to animals. He shows a snake sinisterly approaching the boy, but when the boy sees it he does not attack. He simply grabs the snake and moves it away from him. Anyone not living a life so connected with nature would be afraid or try to kill the snake but the boy is at ease in its presence. This immediately establishes a strong relationship the boy has to nature. This relationship is challenged when the boy tortures a fish, a frog and a snake by tying a stone to them. The old monk says to the boy, “if any of the animals, the fish, the frog, or the snake is dead you will carry a stone in your heart for the rest of your life.” It is this kind of simple teaching and learning that Ki-duk incorporates into the film that make it so effective and representative of Buddhist teachings. Spring, Summer… has very little dialogue. It is not a film driven by its writing, but the little writing is paramount in terms of meaning and grandeur. These words that the monk tells the boy resonates throughout the entire film because everything connects back to this idea of spirituality, compassion and self-preservation.
In the next season “Summer” the boy has grown to a young adult and experiences a sexual awakening. Each season has similar shots that display the beauty of this small valley of isolation. In the “Summer” the forest is a bit more lush. There is a beautiful shot of the young monk walking through the woods on the way to meeting a mother and daughter who seek the Monastery for healing. He is positioned in the center of the frame. His clothes are typical of monks. There is something very organic to their grey robes that is void of restriction. The camera follows the boy in a medium-shot. The rest of the frame is a blur of greens and browns and glimmers of light until he comes upon the pair. There is a strong innocence in his initial interaction with the mother and daughter because he at first says nothing. This shows his lack of connection with other human beings; his social awkwardness embedded in him by the path he is on. This is essential to Buddhist teachings. It promotes a disassociation with things that may lead to cravings. Buddhism is based on the Four Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth states that life is suffering, which basically acknowledges that realistically in life, people suffer. The Second Noble Truth states that all suffering is caused by craving. People bring suffering to themselves because they have cravings or desires for things to be a certain way and then are disappointed with reality. The Third Noble Truth states that suffering can be overcome and happiness attained by giving up useless cravings. The Fourth Noble Truth explains the path leading to happiness through the Noble Eightfold Path. In “Summer” Ki-duk deals with the cravings Buddhists speak of. The sick girl stays with them in the Monastery and the boy becomes possessed with feelings of desire. However, in this environment, this situaiton is simply another opportunity for an important lesson. Ki-duk inputs a shot of two snakes mating that the boy sees and immediately recgonizes it as a natural act and has sex with the young woman. When the old wise monk discovers this he tells him, “Lust awakens the desire to possess. And that awakens the desire to murder.” The old man possesses so much wisdom and shows little emotion or surprise in the actions of the boy. Through the wise old man it is clear that Ki-duk has a strong understanding of the vices of the world that bring man suffering.
In the “Fall” season it is over ten years later and the lesson of the Second Noble Truth comes full circle when the boy, now a grown man returns after having murdered his wife because of jealousy. Again this section begins with the same shot. This time the water has risen and the boy, now and the returning man walks on screen through the water to the doorway. He is wearing foreign clothes and does not blend in as easily because of the artificiality of the colors in his clothing. With his experience in the outside world the young monk brings with him intense anger and remorse for what his life had become. This is a strong metaphor for the ideals of Buddhism. Although it seems a bit extreme he is driven to murder but the bluntness of this act of murder refers exactly back to the old monk’s words. In this regard Ki-duk is not subtle in promoting Buddhism. The old monk says to him in his anger, “Didn’t you know beforehand how the world of men is?” Ki-duk clearly wished to convey the idea that the perversions of the social world causes dangerous thoughts. The young monk begins to make his transition back to the spiritual life after cutting off all his hair, a clear symbol of a life back to simplicity. In this chapter two outsiders again join them coming to arrest the young monk. It is important to point out that Ki-duk only chose to name the two Detectives Choi and Ji, who are not Buddhist and who are men of the real world. This is symbolic of the Buddhist idea of no self. Buddhists strive to completely relinquish their ego and maintain an empty self. This allows the individual to be at one with the natural world and live peacefully with no irrational desires. Ki-duk purposefully omits naming the old monk and young monk in an effort to portray their lack of self. Available on Netflix
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