Film #248: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring (2003) 103mins
After getting slightly ahead of ourselves in my last post, we can now take a step back and return to #248 on the list. And I'm very happy to do so. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring focuses on the life of a Buddhist monk by showing us five seasons taken from different points in his life. We begin one Spring, seeing him as a young child who lives with his master on a small wooden hut floating in the middle of a tranquil lake. The lake is surrounded by countless old and majestic trees, the sound of birdsong and running water mildly punctures the peaceful silence, and a pair of painted wooden doors sit at the end of a path leading down to the water. We get a shot of these doors opening to introduce the beginning of each new season. The master wakes the young boy and kneels before a buddha statue, hitting a wooden block with a stick. It is clear that he leads a very structured life - not a lot changes here but the old man is content. Soon we see the young boy chuckling away as he ties small rocks to a fish, a frog and a snake. The master watches, unobserved by the child. When the boy awakens the next day he finds himself encumbered with a large rock tied to his back. When he complains the master asks him what he thinks happened to the animals and tells him to find them. Both the fish and the snake are dead. The boy cries his eyes out as he learns the repercussions of his actions.
I will not spoil the events of the proceeding seasons, but with that outline I hope you can get an idea of the atmosphere in the film. We watch the boy grow into a teen, a man in his 30s, a middle-aged man, and then an old master himself. To think that someone could spend their life in one small area simply praying, reflecting and surviving may seem very strange to us and also probably sounds like a painfully uneventful film. The boy does go through a rebellious phase though which provides the main focus of the narrative, only later in life redeeming himself for the actions he takes as a young man. But this isn't to say the film ever enters a period of frantic action; we always remain at the lake, the old master ruling with a calm authority even as the boy grows older. Yet the serene fascination one has in watching life unfold on this floating hut is enough to keep you hooked.
What's more, there is comparatively little dialogue in the film. It is completely happy to let the images do the talking instead - the picturesque settings and the expressions of the characters are often more than enough for us to fully appreciate the power of a scene. And there are plenty of powerful moments. Love, hate, cruelty and redemption all feature prominantly in the film. This isn't a particularly shocking or intense piece, but it certainly has the ability to stir the emotions of its audience. The most powerful moment of all though may well be the ending which suggests that, despite everything that might happen along the way, the circle of life continues undisturbed. It isn't immediately gratifying, but it is the kind of thing that will stick in your mind and stay with you for a long time afterwards. Highly recommended.
As ever, hit the IMDB tag underneath this to see my other Top 250 related posts.
