In Kim Ki-Duk's 2006 film Spring, Summer, Fall Winterand Spring, five seasons of the year (and of a life) are depicted. The film takes place in a monastery that floats on a river in Korea; the film focuses on a monk and his apprentice, as they both age through these different summers of life. As the monk remains a pious, spiritual individual, he tries to teach his apprentice how to avoid the violence that he begins to display. The purpose of the film is to demonstrate man's continual struggle for peace and tranquility, despite our own defective, violent natures. Kim uses serene, tranquil and beautiful imagery to paint this monastery as a timeless place, free from the cares of the rest of the world. Framing, lighting and sound are used to great effect to demonstrate the beauty and isolation of life, as demonstrated in this film.
Kim's use of framing is incredible; there are very few close-ups, much of the film taking place in wide and medium shots. All of the shots are flat, static and unmoving; in terms of their placement, they are very much like portraits in their lack of motion. Kim would like us to see as much of the environment as possible, showcasing the beautiful paintings and details on the boat and in the monastery. There are many establishing shots of the monastery, anchored in the middle of this lake in Korea, surrounded by nature. This has the effect of hammering home the isolation from nature the characters feel, showing them as blank slates unimpeded by civilization and mankind's modernization. This also makes the violence that the apprentice exhibits (first against helpless animals, then against his wife and himself) feel much more primal. By refusing to give us very many intense close-ups of either the monk or the monastery, the film becomes more about the character's interaction with their environment than about their own internal processes. We learn about them as passive observers rather than getting into their heads to learn their motivations. Pulling back to see long shots of characters, with their full bodies, gives us an objective view of how they interact with the forest and the monastery, who are characters unto themselves.
The film's lighting is very natural; greens and browns are evident throughout, as the majority of the film takes place in nature. There is not a lot of saturation; much of the film seems as though it takes place in dawn or dusk. The lighting never becomes very bright, even in the happiest of instances; this is to keep the film grounded in nature and realism. Kim wishes to show the world of the film as it is, and keep it tranquil without infusing it with unnecessary stylistic choices. All the same, the film's color palette is muted, but not in a way that makes the view of nature much less beautiful. It seems to convey the isolation and quiet serenity of nature that the monk wishes to emulate - nature, like man, is beautiful, but risks becoming gaudy when it becomes too bright. In this way, Kim defies normal depictions of nature in film as brightly saturated forests with lime-green trees; life is presented as is - lonely and dark, but acceptable when you reach the level of peace that the monk demonstrates.
Sound is another crucial element in the serenity and peace offered in the film. Much of the film is quiet; there is very little dialogue, and so the soundscape is filled with the ambient noise of moving water, creaking wood, and shuffling rocks. This is done very deliberately to keep the film grounded in nature; the film is merely about how people interact with their environment, fighting or embracing their fundamentally violent natures. The nature-based sounds are used throughout the film to remind the audience just how immersed the characters are in the nature around them. It almost makes the film feel like a nature documentary more than a character piece; the film merely studies these animals as they interact with each other.
In conclusion, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winterand Spring uses wide, static shot composition to portray a very presentational, metaphorical journey into man's inherent nature. The monk and the apprentice are ciphers more than characters - representations of an ideal (the monk) and our attempts to match up to that ideal (the flawed apprentice). The quiet soundscape of the film helps to declutter the film with dialogue or obtrusive music, stripping the story down to its bare essentials. Naturalistic, flat lighting, with a noted lack of saturation, demonstrates the beauty of nature in a more subdued, haunting way. With these elements in place, Kim can tell his story of temptation and spirituality in a poetic manner.
Works Cited
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winterand Spring. Dir. Ki-duk Kim. Perf. Su Oh-yeong, Kim Young-min, Seo Jae-kyung. Cineklick Asia, 2003. DVD.
