Our take
A doorway opens at the beginning of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring, and through this doorway you are brought into the movie’s world. Explanations or plot transitions rarely exist, and dialogue is kept at a minimum level. And yet this movie remains an incredibly simple film. Following a Buddhist master and his apprentice, it is a fable very much in the ‘cycle of life’ form, offering gentle complexity in the timeless and sole framework of a floating Buddhist monastery. That’s all I can say without saying too much. If you are into aesthetically pleasing films, go watch this.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Sundance
1 nom
European Film Awards
1 nom
The story
An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.
Elsewhere
"The impression this movie leaves is profound: Here is an artist who sees things whole."
— Peter Rainer
"Although not as gut-wrenching or politically pugnacious as some of his previous work, Kim's film allows a sense of moral renewal unclouded by sentimentality and without blurring his remarkable cinematic idiom."
— David Jays
The details
Who picked it
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is based in the US and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
