Just as it is reflected in the title 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring', the whole movie is thematized of the Buddhist philosophy - the world, including human lives, is constantly on a continuation, passing on and on, cycling, endlessly. There is no death. So that there should be no fear for death, because our lives will continue in different forms after death.
I'm wondering if the inspiration of the movie comes from a dream. The story takes place in an entirely isolated small woody temple floating on a lake that is surrounded by mountains, which is too perfectly ideally Buddhist to be imagined as existed in the real life. The setting is also implicit of the Buddhist ideology: life is self-enclosed, floating around, ungovernable, and the most crucial part is to keep it balanced.
Spring. A little monk and an old monk. Don't know their names. Central theme: kindness and empathy. The little one learns it by a lesson: he plays with a fish, a frog and a snake by tying a small stone to each creature; then he finds them all died because their incapability to move and he cries confronting the scenes. Hereby the Buddhist philosophy that all humans are born kind is illustrated.
Summer. The boy has grown up. Then a girl comes. So innocently, purely sexy. The opposite kind of Tyra Banks. So vulnerable and defenseless and thus, all boys would fall for her. The monk is no exception. He seduces her. They make love on a huge rock and in the boat. Incredibly romantic. However, there is really no love here (to me). Only sex. It is as if he has been blinded ever since and all of a sudden, someone opens his eyes. Now he is able to see. The old monk finds it out. He sends the girl back and gives the boy a choice. The boy chooses to go after the girl, abandoning the temple and life he has always been carring.
Fall. Tragedy. The boy ends up murdering his wife and comes back to the temple. It is no surprise because in their relationship, a possession of each other takes over. So that what matters is the occupation of each other's body. When the boy finds out the girl dates another man, he kills her. The essential belief of Buddhism is the ultimate happiness lies in a balanced, peaceful, and tolerant heart which is strong enough to resist all worldly temptations. All sorts of lusts, such as sex and vanity, are intruding forces that will break the balance, stirring up turmoils. That's why temptations is the source of evilness.
This boy comes back with a heart of hatred, unrestness and agitation. The balance is completely ruined. Seeing that, the old monk holds the tail of a cat, using it as a calligraphy pen, starting calligraphying on the outskirt of the temple ground. Then he asks the boy to carving out the characters on the ground. Buddhist philosohy comes again: concentration cures. Only by meditation people are able to restore the peace in heart. Then the police come. But they let the boy continue carving before arresting him. By the time he finishes it, he has already regained the peace in his heart ,exemplified by the soundness of his last sleep in the temple.
Life or death doesn't matter. What goes beyond them and what really should be counted is the peace and the balance. Losing the balance is even worse than dying. Why worrying, then? Why sad, then? What is more delightful to be contented with whatever you have, then?
Winter. The old monk suicided by burning himself on the boat. He becomes a snake. The life is always continuing, but in different forms. He-the snake-chooses to stay in the temple.
Spring again. A new monk comes. Then a small boy. The story, the life, and the cycle continues. What will be the story for this summer, then?
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