Ebert Says: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003)

For a while now I have been knocking off watchlist films that critic Roger Ebert, one of my personal heroes, had listed as his favorite films. The list is found here on MUBI. It has been such a wonderful journey to rediscover the ones I loved already as well as find new movies to devour. One of life’s greatest gifts is discovering and recommending a wonderful movie to another.

I have to start by saying: I absolutely adore this film. It’s transcendent and moves at a pace that isn’t rushed but is wholly transfixing. It’s like an exquisite painting with layered intricate strokes, and upon multiple views, I’m sure I’ll see something new each time. Now, on to the gushing:

The film follows the life cycle of a monk (Oh Yeong-su) and his apprentice at a secluded monastery in the Korean wilderness. It follows him as a young boy, a teenager, and a man. When the apprentice (Seo Jae-kyeong) encounters a girl (Ha Yeo-jin), brought to the monastery for healing, the temptation arises and his faith is tested.

Life Repeating

Kim Ki-duk writes, directs, and acts in this odyssey of the human experience fraught with tragedy and inspired with hope, without ever minimizing the flaws of its characters. There’s redemption and there is forgiveness. It’s a meticulous look at Buddhist Theory and it’s a film that speaks volumes with very little words.

The cinematography by Baek Dong-hyun, utilizes this singular locale and makes it feel enormous as if the world exists only in this sparse floating shrine. We’re invited into a pool of the mortal condition drop by drop and it’s a messy but majestic ride. Outside we are taken on sprawling mountainsides and lush greenery that pop off the screen.

Seasons… Key Moments in Life

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring brings many symbols of rebirth with its human and animal representations. There are some scenes that are really serene and others that are incredibly tragic. It finds itself in a special place within the annals of movie history because it’s like a long inhale of nature, both human and of the environment. You feel deeply moved by its end and you feel like you’ve experienced one man’s life at key moments, navigated through the shifting of the seasons. As sure to change as life is.

It has a meditative rhythm that’s uniquely carried by the performances and alluring cinematography. I could linger on the specifics more of what decisions the characters make and some of these intelligently written scenes that encourage days of contemplating from their viewers, but I think it is one you should all experience for yourself.

One of the marks of an excellent film is truly the staying power. This is one that burrows deep, and I’d find myself drifting back to various moments consistently.

It’s life encompassed. It’s time. It’s seasons. It’s change and growth. It’s the return to form and the lively impulse to rebel. It’s passion, guilt, patience, and pain. It’s bleak but it’s gorgeous. It’s the journey we all take, internally and externally. It is consequences and choices. It’s everyone. And we should all discover the insightful and exquisitely sublime: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring. Majestic.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring is currently available to rent digitally.