4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I liked it!, January 17, 2009
Rather than engage in the back and forth of these reviews, permit me to offer one slightly different observation.
When the abbot monk is asked how he lived to be over 100, he said "I eat at the time to eat, and sleep at the time to sleep."
Later, a woman had appeared and requested to become a nun. The hero, a former warlord who was hiding from his past, shaved her head, and in doing so, became aroused.
One night, she crept into his bed chamber and said "You are not a monk". She mentioned the way he carressed her when he shaved her head, his strong shoulders, etc. Inevitabley, nature took its course. After they tickled each other's fancy, she gently and seductively tied his wrists with a piece of leather, stradled him, and introduced herself as the widow of another warlord whom he had killed. She then started biting him on the jugular vein. Our hero struggled to be free, to no avail.
Suddenly, the old monk appeared out of nowhere, did some kind fo kung fu move with his walking stick, and killed the woman by striking her at the base of her skull. Our hero lay there, amazed and shocked. The old monk shook his head and walked away, muttering "No sleep at the time to sleep."
Let's be honest; could an American have come up with this?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Temptation of the Monk, June 25, 2008
"Temptation of a Monk" is one title in my prized collections, along
with "Brazil", "Das Boot", "Fisher King", and "Wallace and Grommet"...
The movie takes us on a transformational journey with the protagonist General. Though he commands the fate of hundreds of thousands of people, and even the fate of nations, he was caught helplessly in a turmoil caused by royal sibling rivlary, where the prize of wrong alliance is death. After the coup, his subordinate saught the General's death to avenge the betrayed, now dead prince. His mother then denouced his failure to protect the dead prince, and thus tarnished the family reputation as loyal subjects. She expressed her denouncement through suicide, which the General witnessed. He soon became a fugitive general pursued by the newly enthroned king because he failed to submit to the new king.
In his fugitive runs, the general slid down a slipery slope of decadence, conveyed through brothel indulgence. He tried to run from one crisis to the next, but confronted death of people around him wherever he turned. He struggled with all his might, but to no avail in his salvation.
In his last ditch escape, he saught refuge in a desolate monistery where the essence of life was revealed in simple words by an unassuming monk in ragged cloths, with unshaven head. The General calms and attains peace as his internal conflicts are resolved through seemingly mondane day to day interactions with the Zen master.
The thematic development is brilliant, where the chaotic conflicts between
multiple interests and constant tensions are released anti-climatically at the end. Taking their place are seemingly casual conversations woven into daily life, whose wisdom brought the past turmoil into proper perspective and closure. The simple yet profound messages, often subtly hillarious, are as relevant to modern hectic life style as ever.
Don't take my word for it. See it for yourself.
Many may be disappointed, but may you be the few who find jewels in this classic.
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