Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring
Rough month for me that made it so long until I got to this piece. As I've been getting into Zen practice and learning more about Buddhism, I can especially connect to this. The set design itself, this floating temple far from the world, is austere and fascinating. The outside world is rarely heard from as Master seeks to teach his pupil all he can about living. The youth begins, in spring, as one that has no respect for nature, and that type of disrespect can turn into harsher actions in the future. But when the outside world connects with the floating temple, it is as if Pandora's box has opened a bit. Now, our young man gets a taste of the flesh, and his obsessive desire takes him from his life as a Buddhist monk, and he tries to go out into the world to be a regular and decent man. Well, that didn't work so well, so he returned, chastened. It became clear: There's nothing of much worth outside of this little floating temple. He returns to his practice, setting right his wrongs. It's the perfect background to discuss ideas of good and evil, jealous to craze, truly, the Everything. This is a patient film, full of nature and animals. It's slow cinema in some respects, though there is a fairly clear plot. Nevertheless, I was engaged from top to bottom. What ore can you ask for?
Glad you enjoyed it. This film and
Ostrov (2006) sort of connect up in my mind with the way they look at religion. When I first saw SSAWS it was the beauty and tranquillity of the temple the drew me in. The
death of the old monk, tragic and harrowing all in one, cemented this film in my list. Yes very much a slow film. If you are looking for a similar film I would suggest Ostrov, which can be found on YouTube with English subs (although if you speak Russian you will not need them).
Thank you for watching