AG and I watched this movie recently, and were quite impressed by it. Directed by Kim Ki-duk, the film follows the life of a monk growing up in a Korean Buddhist hermitage, falling into grave sin, and returning to begin the process over again. As you can see from the clip above, this movie was beautifully shot, and it touches upon the themes of desire, suffering, and liberation. It is also, as you can tell from the title, based on the idea that life is a cycle from which man attempts to break free. There are too many powerful images in this movie for me to really analyze, so I highly recommend that the reader see this film.
Thanks David. I think that’s right – Kuan Yin sits in that pose but the hand was throwing me off. And I think “she” is always depicted as “he” in formal Buddhist monastic settings (though obviously not in folk temples).
Probably my favorite film of all time…
I think it’s a statue of Maitreya, buddha of the future, as he is traditionally depicted sitting on a throne with hands in a similar mudra.
Another excellent film in the same genre is “Why has Bodhidharma Left for the East?” It depicts the lives of three monks living in a dilapidated hermitage in the mountains of Korea. One is a young boy, the other a young man, the third an old master. Beautiful film, powerful images.
Namo Kuan Shih Yin P’usa? (Can’t quite tell if the fuzzy image is supposed to be Kuan Yin).