Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?

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Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?

1989

2h 15m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

100%

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7 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Kibong (Won-Sop Sin), a young Buddhist monk on a quest to achieve peace and enlightenment, ventures to a monastery in the mountains of South Korea to commune with the elderly and reclusive Hyegok (Pan-Yong Yi) in hopes of gaining the answers he craves. With the aid of Haejin (Hae-Jin Huang), the young orphan who lives with him, Hyegok attempts to impart his wisdom onto Kibong. Yet, the young man still feels torn between his old life in the city and the path toward inner peace.

Panos Kotzathanasis

HanCinema

03/04/2019

Running at 175 minutes and filled with minimalism and implementing a very slow pace, this is a very difficult film to watch. However, if one can get past these notions, he will discover a true masterpiece, that signaled the progress of Korean cinema

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

01/10/2008

I occasionally found myself lost in thought and found the film an overall worthwhile experience.

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Norm Schrager

Filmcritic.com

11/06/2007

3.5/5

a difficult movie of unorthodox pacing and presentation

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Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

10/21/2007

92/100

... amazingly beautiful, as every frame puts you in mind of a painting by Rousseau or Joseph Turner.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

12/30/2005

A+

Attempts to express what is inexpressible and does it better than any previous film of this type.

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Thomas Delapa

Boulder Weekly

09/03/2004

3/5

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01/27/2012

A mediation on Buddhist teachings of freedom from earthly desires, and the impermanence and cycling of life, by following the changes in an old man, a young boy and a young man as they each in their own way struggle to attain understanding. The beauty within reach is displayed throughout the film by stunning photography and natural metaphors

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07/24/2011

2nd favorite film of all time.

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04/03/2011

A beautiful movie that makes the difficult decision to attempt to express the challenges of a buddhist monk. This movie took it on much more directly than any I know, and did so honestly. I was and continue to be impressed

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12/26/2010

What was my original face before I was born? Don't know. I don't understand this don't know. The monitor is bright, the light reflects off my eyes Wonderful!

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08/28/2010

Meditative, unconventional, and somewhat confusing, but worth the effort.

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08/03/2009

pretty filmograpphy, but sloow & boring plot

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Bae Yong-kyun

Director

Pan-Yong Yi

Hye-gok

Won-Sop Sin

Ki-bong

Hae-Jin Huang

Hae-jin

Su-Myong Ko

Abbot

Hae-Yong Kim

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Synopsis

Kibong (Won-Sop Sin), a young Buddhist monk on a quest to achieve peace and enlightenment, ventures to a monastery in the mountains of South Korea to commune with the elderly and reclusive Hyegok (Pan-Yong Yi) in hopes of gaining the answers he craves. With the aid of Haejin (Hae-Jin Huang), the young orphan who lives with him, Hyegok attempts to impart his wisdom onto Kibong. Yet, the young man still feels torn between his old life in the city and the path toward inner peace.

Director: Bae Yong-kyun
Producer: Bae Yong-kyun
Distributor: Milestone Film & Video, Criterion Collection
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1989, Original
Release Date (DVD): Sep 15, 2009
Runtime: 2h 15m
Sound Mix: Mono