Greetings again from the darkness. Korean director Ki-Duk Kim also wrote the screenplay and in the post-movie Q&A explained that this is a movie about life. Really it is the proverbial circle of life. The seasonal changes are the perfect backdrop for his vision of the changes in our lives. By far the most interesting portion of the film is during the teen years when the ill female visits. More life is experienced in this 20 minutes of filmmaking than in 2 hours of most. The symbolism of the boat is most appealing, although the buddhist spiritual scenes threw me off course at times. Did enjoy the director's comments on the stones (burdens) we all carry in our life and how at the end, we usually reflect on those times. Definitely worth seeing as a metaphor of the circle of life. Some of the scenery is beautiful and peaceful. By the way, that is the director as the master at the end of the film.
