A young monk that doesn't know his parents live in a temple with an older monk and his apprentice. He is bullied by a boy at school which he don't attend to, but are interested in because of curiosity and the other children of course. Because he is a monk, hes seen as different by this leader of the school pack, this movie is about him and how being different affects him. Buddhism is about resisting temptation. By juxtaposing temple life with the modern Korean life, this movie shows all the temptations that conflicts in his mind with the teachings of the older monk. Temptations spells things like knowing his mother, having a family, hunting, eating meat, being one with the rest and interests in girls.
Compared to 'Bom, yeorum ...' in which Oh Yeong-so also plays a similar role, this is less spiritual and metaphysical, also the direction of this movie is at times a bit unclear. It was striking also however that the figure of Oh Yeong-so was much more tightly interwoven (amongst other things, most obvious being the seasons) in Kim Ki-duks movie than this. Maybe Oh isn't such a big actor, but in Kims movie you couldn't tell, in 'Dong seung' you can. Still this is a good movie, it is always interesting to get a glimpse of the rich Korean culture and its philosophy. The settings is very beautiful, I really wish I could spend some time in them, and cinematography is OK, nothing spectacular. Overall good work with a little something lacking.
