Mandala (Korean: 만다라) is a 1981 South Korean film about Buddhist monks in Korea based on the novel of the same name by Kim Seong-dong, who spent 10 years as a Buddhist monk. This is considered by many critics to be director Im Kwon-taek's breakthrough as a cinematic artist.
| Mandala | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Hangul | 만다라 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Mandara |
| McCune–Reischauer | Mantara |
| Directed by | Im Kwon-taek |
| Written by | Kim Song-dong (novel) Lee Sang-hyon Song Kil-han |
| Produced by | Park Chong-chan |
| Starring | Ahn Sung-ki Jeon Moo-song Kim Jong-su |
| Cinematography | Jeong Il-seong |
| Edited by | Lee Do-won |
| Music by | Kim Chong-gil |
| Distributed by | Hwa Chun Trading Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Plot
editA bus stops in front of a checkpoint and soldiers begin to check the passengers. Monk Ji-san is caught without proper ID, and the young monk Beop-woon follows him. Ji-san is released after chanting Buddha's name as ordered by the soldiers.
Beop-woon meets Ji-san again while the latter drinks at a temple. Ji-san says Buddha is not found only at Buddhist temples, and Beop-woon realizes that he has achieved nothing after six years of practice. Beop-woon follows Ji-san as he sets off again. After repeatedly splitting up and reuniting again, they begin living together at a small hermitage in the mountains. Ji-san, who helps a shaman with the traditional Buddhist ritual of opening of the eyes, asks who will do the same for him, drinks alcohol, assumes a lotus position and freezes to death. Beop-woon cremates Ji-san in a ceremony and gives a Buddha statue that Ji-san had to Ok-sun, a woman the late monk could never forget. Beop-woon meets his mother, who abandoned him as a child, for the last time and embarks on the long road of suffering.
Awards
edit- Best Director, 20th Grand Bell Awards (South Korea) [1]
- Grand Prix Hawaii Film Festival [2]
Notes
edit- ^ Lee, Young-il (1988). The History of Korean Cinema. Motion Picture Promotion Corporation. ISBN 89-88095-12-X., p.343.
- ^ Hartzell, Adam. A Review of Im Kwon-Taek: The Making of a Korean National Cinema at www.koreanfilm.org
Sources
edit- "Im Kwon-taek's Retrospective". [5th Festival of Korean Cinema in Italy]. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
- James, David E. (2001). "Im Kwon-Taek - Korean National Cinema and Buddhism". Film Quarterly. Vol. 54, no. 3 (April). pp. 14–31.
- Mandala at IMDb
- "Mandala". The Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 277, no. 14. 1983-06-09. p. 13.
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