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Movie Review: 'Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring'
by Eric Wulf
3 October 2004
This is an absolutely incredible movie. I liked it more than all the "Lord
of the Rings" combined which is saying quite a lot. I will leave the review
up to a friend of mine, but for those of you who are interested this movie
will not be a waste of time and is incredibly moving. If you believe that
there is a certain circle of life and that we all exist within a Natural
Order that creates and recreates itself to fight evil then this is the movie
for you. If you have a deep down appreciation for the Japanese Shinto
legacy and Asian Buddhist warrior monks in general you'll like this movie.
If you like Hinduism this is also for you. You should have a general
understanding of Asian history and Japan in particular going in.
I am not going to go through the movie scene by scene but rather point out
some things in the movie that are of religious and cultural importance to
Asians. First, a "chicken" is a female prostitute. Second, a "duck" is a
male prostitute. The deer represents male virility. In the "Summer"
section of the movie the dress that the woman is changing into is a Japanese
schoolgirl's uniform. The dragon eats evil spirits. Evil spirits enter
through the gates.
In the "Fall" division of the movie, yes, they are speaking Japanese (I
swear and correct me if I'm wrong but I lived in Japan for over two years).
Pay close attention to the fish bell. Pay close attention to the colors
used to paint the characters that the master has drawn. When the man is
asked if he did the bad thing in passion he answers "iie" which is "no" in
Japanese but the subtitles translate it as "yes." The fish around the
Buddha are used for the Chinese Spring Festival which occurs in winter.
The woman who brings the child in Winter is wearing one of the colors the
master has the two visitors use. The hills/mountains represent Emperors.
Look at the effect that technology has in Fall. White represents death.
Winter has a lot of meanings. A full moon means a lot to the Japanese and
the cherry blossom festival takes place under the moon and the cherry
blossoms that fall represent death and warriors specifically. Listen to the
music in Winter and see if you can tell what it sounds like and what country
both the music and the martial arts come from.
Notice the elements that have reincarnated themselves for the final battle.
The statue that the monk carries is Lakhshima, the Goddess of Fortune and
Vishnu's wife (Buddha was the 9th reincarnation of Vishnu). The sun is the
sun.
I will leave Spring as a surprise for the viewer. The force of destruction
still exists but the Natural Order has been established and cannot be
destroyed. If you are not happy with this movie you do not have a soul. I
think this movie is in part about Asia's experience with the West and what
the West initially did to its culture. It is much more complex and the
viewer will have to draw his or her own conclusions. If you like the movie,
you will love Yukio Mishima's Tetraology "The Sea of Tranquility."
ERIC WULF
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