"Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-duk
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Lee Seung-Jae
Cast: Oh Yeong-Su, Kim Jong-Ho, Seo Jae-Gyeong, Kim Yeong-Min, Ha Yeo-Jin, Kim Ki-duk
Running Time: 106 min.

By Slaxor

“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…And Spring” tells the story of a monk from childhood to his adult years.

Well this may be the most visually beautiful movie I have ever seen. If you told me tomorrow I could be living on the floating temple on the lake from this movie if I just shaved my head, converted to Buddhism and gave up the outside world I’d be bald, kneeling and praying before you could finish the offer.

The tone of the movie is very calm as is the acting. The only time it felt out of place was when the focker who plays the lead in Fall hams it up a bit upon his arrival but later redeems himself. Another great thing is that almost everything in the movie ties in and has some sort of meaning. I say almost which leads me to my first gripe.

About 3/4’s in we could probably wrap the movie up in about 15-20 minutes and send me home happy but for no reason whatsoever our lead decides, “hey, lets learn some kung-fu” and begins self-teaching himself with a manual. Ok, so the movie deals with Buddhism which can be associated with martial arts. However, it never ties in to anything and doesn’t have enough time to be used. One could say our lead was getting rid of past anger but I’m not buying it.

The casting is pretty good with the standout being the actor that plays the elder monk. Throughout the movie as we go through the stages of the younger monks life he is replaced by a different actor in each season for obvious age differences. The old monk on the other hand is only made to look older each time and every time a new season starts and were left to wonder if the next actor to play the lead might not be as good as the previous. Well for that we have the elder monk to fall back on for great acting. This of course leads to my only other beef with the movie and that is when this character is no longer in the film were subjected to a new actor for the lead with no one familiar.

I guess writing this now I’ve come to realize that this movie probably would have been perfect had they eliminated the gratuitous kung-fu training. The movie is probably 2/3’s Spring, Summer and Fall. The other 3rd is a long winter that overstays its welcome with this viewer.

Overall if your a fan of Korean dramas but prefer them to be the more enlightening kind instead of the ones that make you wanna slit your wrists like SFMV then check this out.

Slaxor’s Rating: 7.5/10

By Equinox21

When I found out a few weeks back that Kim Ki-duk’s new movie, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter· and Spring, was going to be playing at a local theater in Milwaukee, I was pretty excited. Then I’d started to read a bit more about it and my expectations started dropping slightly. Until my viewing of this movie last night, I’d only seen one other Kim Ki-duk movie, The Isle, which I absolutely loved but which was really quite twisted. But, from what I was reading, SSFWaS started sounding like it would turn out to be a boring melodrama about the stages of a man’s life. Boy, am I glad I was wrong. It was a terrific film that deserves all the accolades it has thus far received.

The plot is very straight forward, because there isn’t a lot to it. It just follows the stages of a young monk’s life as he is mentored by an old monk on their floating monastery (inhabited by only the two of them and their ever changing pets). It’s the way that the story is told that makes it so interesting. Not only does the title of the film represent the stages of life of the young monk, but it also represents the actual seasons that those stages are shown in. During the Spring segment, the young monk is just a little boy and the film takes place during Spring. During Summer, the young monk is in his teens. And so on. This was a very effective and enjoyable method of conveying the story.

The film employed a more Buddhist theme than simply centering around 2 monks. The film could be seen as coming full circle by the end (when you see the film and understand what I mean), which is a very eastern/Buddhist philosophy (even if it is simple and even a bit clich*d). It also doesn’t hurt that Kim Ki-duk found the most picturesque valley in South Korea to film this in. The cinematography was absolutely spectacular.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter· and Spring was an amazing film by an extremely talented director (who, by the way, also played the young monk in the Winter segment). I wasn’t quite sure I’d like this film when I’d read a few things about it, but it certainly didn’t let me down in any way whatsoever. Do yourselves a favor and check it out.

Equinox21’s Rating: 9/10

"Samaria" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-duk
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Kim Ki-duk, Jeong-min Bae, Jeong-min Baek
Cast: Gwak Ji-Min, Seo Min-Jeong, Lee Eol
Running Time: 95 min.

By Equinox21

Kim Ki-duk’s newest movie, Samaria, takes on the problem of child prostitution in a way only Kim Ki-duk can present it. In what could have been a tremendously risqué and dangerous film to make, he takes on the subject in such a way that the focus is taken off the actual act and onto the mentality of the two children who are taken advantage of by their pedophile clients.

The movie is told in 2 (or possibly even 2 and a half, depending on how you look at it) different parts. The first focuses on Yeo-jin, who manages her friend Jae Yeong’s prostitution endeavors in attempt to earn enough for the two of them to travel to Europe, and who eventually takes over the “business” when Jae Yeong dies. The second part focuses on Yeo-jin’s father, a detective who discovers his daughter’s horrible secret and does everything in his power to undermine it (without letting her know that he’s aware of it). This second part of the movie is what really makes an impact. The father follows Yeo-jin around and makes sure the guys who want to sleep with her don’t get that chance. His despair at what his daughter has gone through makes all his actions understandable, and even forgivable.

Even though Samaria dealt with a subject that should not be a matter of “entertainment”, what Kim Ki-duk does with it makes it a real joy to watch. The story really makes it stand out as one of the year’s great movies (so far). Everyone who likes Kim Ki-duk’s artistic (and sometimes difficult to watch) films should definitely check out Samaria.

Equinox21’s Rating: 8.5/10

"The Isle" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Eun
Cast: Seo Jeong, Kim Yu-seok, Park Seong-hee, Cho Jae-hyeon, Chang Hang-seon
Running Time: 100 min.

By Alexander

The only thing that saved this exploitive and pretentious piece of trash from a 0/10 is the gorgeous cinematography. The people responsible for The Isle may not know how to engender audience sympathy, write dialogue, use lighting or tell a story, but they sure know how to film scenery.

Never has a leading actress had to do so little in a film to “earn” a paycheck than Seo Jeong. She’s ocassionally mute, and other than being able to clench her teeth whilst skinning frogs and electrocuting fish, baring her breasts, manning a small motorboat and enduring repeated kicks to the crotch, Seo Jeong does little else but absorb abuse. Had I been able to muster an ounce of sympathy for her character I might have enjoyed The Isle. Movies are always better when we care about the people in them, after all. Even the character of crazed Eihi in Miike’s Audition has a relatively well-developed backstory, and although we might ultimately despise her, we at least understand her motivations, however twisted they may be. Hee-jin’s story, unfortunately, is told in a seconds-long scene of her looking pained at the sight of what is apparently her ex-lover’s motorcycle. That’s it. No rationale behind her want of the weirdo on the yellow float despite his violent attempt to rape her; no explanation behind the ease at which she kills or the intensity of her jealousy. For the most horrific scene in the film to resonate beyond being simply shocking, we NEED to know what drives her to that moment. (And despite her irrational and sometimes violent behavior before she does this, NOTHING in the film suggests she is capable of doing something as vile and horrific as THAT. Incredibly, Miike’s Eihi looks sane in comparison.) Otherwise, it’s just sensationalistic, exploitative and pointless.

Much ado about nothing, you say? The entire film revolves around the unconventional “relationship” of Hee-jin and Hyun-sik. (He’s just as fucked up as she is, by the way.) But because they’re both psychotic assholes, there’s no one or nothing to root for or care about. I wanted them both to just fucking die, by suicide, a blow to the head or from giant sharks devouring their floats. Anything, really, to spare ME any more pain. But what did I get for enduring two hours worth of animal maiming, sexual abuse and embarrassingly overt symbolism? An abrupt and clumsy existentialist ending that provided, at least, one laugh-out-loud moment in an otherwise grim and utterly pointless film.

Alexander’s Rating: 2.5/10 (The lake is pretty!)

By Equinox21

Unsure of what to expect, I went into viewing The Isle with an open mind. I’m glad I did, because this is a movie you simply can’t prepare yourself for. It was a slow moving film that emitted feelings of isolation, loneliness, jealousy, revenge and, most of all, strangeness.

Though the movie never specifically tells us the names of the characters, the central characters are Hee-jin (Seo Jeong, in my opinion, a Korean dead ringer for Faye Wong) and Hyun-shik (Kim Yu-seok). Hee-jin is silent the entire movie. She just goes about her business of boating customers out to little floating platforms with small huts on them for fishing outings. Along with carrying customers out to these platforms, Hee-jin’s job includes ferrying guests of the customers (most often local prostitutes) out to them, cleaning and repairing the platforms, and even occasionally selling her body to the lonely fishermen. However, because it’s such a secluded place, it is the perfect place for wanted men to hide out, which is what Hyun-shik is doing there. Slowly, Hee-jin and Hyun-shik fall for each other, and their mutual affection is solidified in a cringe-inducing scene the first of a few.

I absolutely loved the feel of this movie. As I mentioned, it moves very slowly, however, each scene is important in describing the characters’ attitudes and establishing their backgrounds. The atmosphere builds from the secluded surroundings and the nigh constant grey sky. Also, this is an extremely quiet movie. It probably has the least amount of dialogue in any movie I’ve ever seen, however, the characters’ actions speak volumes. A picture is, after all, worth a thousand words.

There were some truly strange scenes in this one. I can’t explain it; I don’t want to give it away as the impact of these scenes are part of the establishment of the feel for this movie. They’re shocking, and in a way disturbing, but not to the point of being unwatchable. The last scene is one that you could talk about and analyze for hours.

This is a good movie, although very strange. The closest movie I can compare it to, as far as oddness, is Miike’s Audition. You shouldn’t miss this one, if only for having a truly interesting Asian cinema conversation piece.

Equinox21’s Rating: 9/10 (minus a point for this movie inflaming my animal rights sensibilities)

By Mighty Peking Man

This movie freaked me out. Not in a jump-out-of-your seat way, but in a subtle “what the fuck?” sort of way. What attracted me to “The Isle” was it’s trailer which I saw almost a year ago on one of my Universe discs. Now, anyone who has seen the trailer can only imagine what kind of film this is – it hints mysterious, dark, quiet, wicked, brutal, sexual…and it all takes place on a secluded fishing island. And now, a year later, I finally watched it — talk about a trailer that lives up to the film in every single way! Written and directed by Kim Ki-Duk (“Bad Guy”, “Real Fiction”), “The Isle” is a horrifying look into one of the strangest relationships I’ve ever seen.

Meet a erratically mute woman named Hee-jin, the operator of a “fishing island” somewhere on the waters in a cul de sac-like lake/mountain atmosphere. The area she runs consists of a few floating rooms (a boat with a small house-like room that fits about two or three people), where the guests pay to stay and fish overnight, and sometimes by the hour. Yes, these floating fishing rooms are the perfect place for prostitution. Not only are there call-girls dropping into the fishermen leisure, but Hee-jin, in addition to running the isle and selling fishing tackle and food, also makes a buck or two selling herself at night.

One day a mysterious man named Hyon-shik rents one of the floating rooms from Hee-jin. Hyon-shik is introduced as a fella with a sadistic past, and now, he has secluded himself from the world and has chosen the “fishing island” as the choice of place for suicide. At night time, while others are fishing or getting it on with whores, Hyon-shik is contemplating whether or not he should blow his head off. Each time he’s about to, Hee-jin barges in and just glares at him. Hee-jin, who obviously has an eerie unexplained past as well, notices an instant connection with him and his grief; not to mention his tears and pain.

When Hyon-shik notices affection from Hee-jin, he puts his current problems (and gun) aside. The two start to share friendly gestures, such as giving each other gifts, and gently smiling at each other from a distance. At one point, Hee-jin even sends a prostitute over to Hyon-shik to secure his sexual desires. As Hyon-shik and Hee-jin become closer, things start to get violently strange.

This is where I stop writing about the plot for spoilers sake.

This is also where I say that Kim Ki-Duk is officially on my list of cool directors. Not only (like numskull says in his “Real Fiction” review) can this guy create magic with a extreme low-budget, but his peculiar vision makes him one of the most talented film directors of our time. Just to have a little fun with words, think of Kim Ki-Duk as a combination of Wong Kar-Wai and Takashi Miike (in his more “Audition”-phase).

“The Isle” is a morbid, yet beautiful art-house film. It’s filled with painful visuals (such as a real fish swimming in water with it’s sides torn off) and symbolic formalities that tickle our thought provoking minds. To top it off, it’s one hell of a disturbing film that needs to be seen. And talk about an ending worth a thousand words.

Highly recommended.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 9/10

"The Bow" International Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Kim Ki-Duk
Cast: Jeon Seong-Hwan, Han Yeo-Reum, Seo Ji-Seok

By Equinox21

I thought it would be really difficult for me to be disappointed with a Kim Ki-Duk movie, but after seeing The Bow, I realize it’s not that tough at all. The Bow’s not a terrible movie, and it does have a lot going for it, it’s just that after seeing many KKD movies, this one started feeling like a parody of his other films; What with the characters never speaking, the movie taking place entirely on the water and the strange and somewhat supernatural ending.

An old man runs a fishing business off his houseboat. He has a smaller boat that he uses to ferry people on and from the larger boat for their fishing excursions. On his houseboat is a 16 year-old girl that lives with him, who he had gotten when she was 7. He’s overly protective of her because he’s planning on marrying her the day she turns 17 (which he counts down on a calendar), and guards her with his bow, by firing “warning shots” at fishermen on his boat that get too touchy with the girl. In the nearly 10 years that the girl has lived with him, she’s never left the boat, and she’s always obedient and very respectful of the old man. Things start to change when a high school aged boy comes on the boat for a fishing trip with his father. The girl starts acting out, because of the old man’s actions.

While the movie started out ok, it quickly became obvious that this film could not live up to the standards of its predecessors. The old man was an obvious greedy pervert, who had apparently kidnapped the girl for his own ends. Though he never assaulted her as a child, and was waiting for her to turn 17, it’s still disturbing the way he looks at her and treats her as a child, all the while waiting for her to mature so he can nail her. It even gets to the point that he starts marking off extra days on his calendar so he can marry her earlier than he had originally intended. The film also plays far too much into the teen angst, immature relationship department. When the girl decides to leave, the old man tries to kill himself, dragging the girl back to him. It’s just like high school kids might do.

The aspect of the two main characters not speaking quickly became annoying to me, because it was so out of place in this film. In other Kim Ki-duk films, like The Isle or 3-Iron, it fits the characters or situations well. In this film, the characters do speak occasionally, only they whisper into each other’s ears. What’s the point? In The Bow, the main characters are the only ones that don’t speak, while all the minor characters talk almost incessantly. If Kim Ki-Duk’s desire was for the movie to not be mistranslated for foreign markets, his goal would have failed due to the minor characters all speaking.

Again, the film isn’t all bad. I absolutely loved the music. It was almost eerie in parts, and joyful in others. The music was supposed to have all come from the old man or the girl playing the bow as an instrument, instead of using it as a weapon.

Overall, I can’t suggest this film over any of the other Kim Ki-Duk films I’ve seen. It just seemed too much like a new Kim Ki-Duk cliché, instead of a new Kim Ki-Duk film. See it only after you’ve seen all of Kim Ki-Duk’s other films, which were much better.

Equinox21’s Rating: 6/10

"Birdcage Inn" International Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Kwang-Min, Yoo Hee-Suk
Cast: Lee Ji-Eun, Lee Hye-Eun, Ahn Jae-Mo, Jeong Hyeong-Gi, Son Min-Seok, Jang Dong-Jik, Lee In-Ok, Jang Hang-Seon, Bang Eun-Jin, Seo Won
Running Time: 103 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

From the lurid-mind of director Kim Ki-Duk comes yet another film exploring the gritty world of sex-for-sale. I haven’t seen all of his films, but I have seen enough to make the simple observation that the guy has some kind of obsession telling stories that revolve around the business of prostitution. For a director like Kim Ki-Duk, it’s never bad thing. Though films like “The Isle”, “Bad Guy”, and “Birdcage Inn” share a similar element in their plots, each one stands on it’s own originality.

“Birdcage Inn” is a story about Jina, the new call girl at the Birdcage Inn. The Birdcage Inn is a hotel that is operated by a poor family – a father, mother and their two kids. The family relies on Jina’s income as a whore to pay the expenses that keep the hotel alive for business; as well as putting food on the table. Still, the family is barely getting by and practically living very low-class. There’s not much known about Jina, but one thing is clear, she’s not happy with her job status (is there a whore who is?). When Jina’s not working, she takes the time to enjoy the beauty of looking at the ocean. Jina is also a terrific artist, but God only knows why she doesn’t use her artistic talents instead of selling her body. It’s apparent that Jina is obviously torn from something that happened in her unexplainable past.

Hyemi, the daughter of the family, resents Jina from the beginning. Not only does Hyemi hate the fact that her family runs such a scummy business, but she blames Jina for being the primary tool. Jina notices Hyemi’s rude attitude towards her, but still tries to win her affection by doing nice things for her and buying her items she can’t afford. Still, Hyemi doesn’t budge. The plot thickens when unexpected things *cough* start to happen: Jina’s old pimp shows up out of the blue demanding that he still gets a cut of her earnings, Hyemi’s young brother develops a small crush on her which leads to trouble, Jina gets involved with an Andy Lau-wannabe (I had to mention this), and worst of all, Hyemi’s boyfriend gets in between Hyemi and Jina.

So far, “Birdcage Inn” is the most straight-forward, softest, and viewer-friendly of all of Kim Ki-Duk’s work. Sure, you still get the brief sex scenes, beatings (it’s not a Korean film without a few slaps and punches), and downbeat situations. For the most part, the film is definitely on a linear-dramatic level which may have been the main problem with the film. How can I not expect a few shocks here and there after seeing his previous films that set the standard for Kim Ki-Duk’s work? Those damn expectations ruin it for ya each time, I tell ya.

“Birdcage Inn” isn’t a bad film, I was just expecting something big to happen, but it never did – at least in my eyes. The cast was great, the direction was fine, but the story needed something. Overall, “Birdcage Inn” was a disappointment. If you want to see what Kim Ki-Duk can really do, try “The Isle”.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 5/10

"Bad Guy" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Seung-Jai
Cast: Cho Je-Hyun, Seo Won, Kim Yoon-Tae, Choi Duk-Moon, Choi Yoon-Young, Shin Yoo-Jin, Kim Jung-Young
Running Time: 100 min.

By Mighty Peking Man

A vigorous-looking man (Cho Je-Hyun) notices a beautiful college girl (Seo Won) waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up. The man walks up and sits besides the girl, turns his head and just stairs at her – no facial expression of any sort, just an ice-cold stare that may hint an instant obsession. The woman glances back to him, quickly gives him a look of annoyance, gets up, and walks away. The boyfriend arrives shortly after the woman departs the bench where the peculiar man still sits and continues to look at her.

As the couple walks away, the estranged man barges in between them, unlawfully grabs the girl and kisses her. As his tongue is deep down her throat, the girl’s boyfriend does everything he can to stop the maniac, which includes smacking him on the back with a sidewalk ashtray – it doesn’t phase him. All of the sudden, the man lets her go. The boyfriend continues to pound him on the face. The man takes the punches and calmly walks away without defending himself. The girl yells at the man as he leaves, demanding an apology. Ignoring the girl, the man walks off into a group of curious spectators who had just witnessed the bizarre scene…

The scene just described is the opening to “Bad Guy,” the first film that I’ve seen by Kim Ki-Duk, an award-winning director known for his bizarre, controversial and violent work; such as “Real Fiction”, “The Isle” and “Alligator.” I’ve done a little research on Kim Ki-Duk, and from what I’ve gathered, he can easily be recognized as one who parks his car in the same garage as Takeshi Kitano, Abel Ferrara and a little bit of Takashi Miike – all, a group of talented filmmakers who are no strangers to disturbing themes.

The better way to describe Kim Ki-Duk’s filmmaking style is rawness and grit, but with a larger eye for surrealism and dream-like melancholy. In the case of “Bad Guy,” the fine line between fantasy and truth can be absurd to the viewers. Basically, as straight-forward as the film is, it throws you off with unexplained visuals that were intentionally meant to short the hell out of our thinking caps.

The opening sequence is one of the most intriguing I’ve seen in recent times. However, the rest of the film doesn’t hold up as well, which shouldn’t be a surprise to most. As the film goes on, it quickly switches into a tale of a woman forced into prostitution to pay off her debts. What we see is sad and almost unbearable considering the reasons she’s in this position to being with. It’s definitely an interesting look into the world of prostitution and gives us a crash course idea on how the underground hooker-ring works in some foreign places.

Also in the mix is the story of a man whose intentions are never quite clear. It doesn’t help that his written character doesn’t speak (a scar on his neck hints that his throat was slashed in the past) nor does he show any kind of facial expressions, unless he’s angry. Is he obsessed? Does he have feelings? Does he get off on watching women lose their virginity to strangers? Towards the film’s ending, it appears that we’re finally able to figure out what the man’s deal was, but just as we think we do, we’re put back to square one. All this leaves us with a “huh?” as the credits begin to roll. Maybe it was the director’s intention to keep us thinking. If it was, it was almost to the point of ridicule.

All the performances are satisfactory. Cho Je-Hyun comes across as a silent James Russo-type. The beautiful, and I mean beautiful, Seo Won gets the job done. However, something tells me that the two leads were limited to giving their all, due to the script and direction.

I look forward to seeing more of Kim Ki-Du’s work. As for “Bad Guy,” I certainly would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. If it weren’t for the many unexplained tidbits, it could have easily been a favorite of mine. All I can say is let your imagination flow.

Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 7/10