Who is the veiled lady coming to the monk with the baby? The subtitle for the earlier scene showed that 'young man flees after murdering wife'. So who was it? Why did she keep her face under veil ?
shareI believe she didn't want him to see her face because she was giving up her child to become a monk. She was probably ashamed or something like that.
shareI thought the same; mind you, when I rewatched the scene, it seemed like her face was somewhat disfigured, through the veil. Her eye sockets weren't aligned and mouth was bulky?
If 'Summer' occurs in present day, with each season being about 10 years apart, the Adult Monk and the winter scenario would be +10 years into our future.
I kind of saw it as this disfigured mother (a result of "man's inhumanity to man" which the Old Monk pointed out in Fall) from a desolate, possibly post-apocalyptic future, finding refuge for her son in the old and serene traditions of a hidden Buddhist retreat - the Buddhist monk himself having been a murderer at one point in his life, unbeknowst to her, kind of shows that there is a value of forgiveness to be learnt.
But that's just me obviously, and you can call me crazy! The film's incredibly open to interpretation. :P
Considering that the baby looks exactly like the monk when he was a kid, I think that the veiled face, maybe, represents a general mother figure. These scenes with the masked mother mirror the beginning of the monk's story, which we don't see at the beginning of the film. I think that the veiled mother also refers to those moments in the film where the old monk and the young adult monk past paper with Kanji over their faces as part of a death ritual.
In this context, I think the veiled mother bringing the baby to the monk, is a mirror image of when the monk was brought to the monastery. So, seeing as how the title and the structure of the film itself return to the beginning, and how the mother's face is veiled, it's as if the monk is seeing himself return to the monastery as a child again. A rebirth. So we're not meant to know who the mother is, because she is a symbolic mother figure.
Also, considering how she covers her face just like the monks do in their death ritual, it seems as though the mother covers her face to symbolize the death of her relationship with her son, who she is giving up for the monastic life. I'm not really sure how to interpret her falling into the lake along with the idea of the death ritual though.
I would say that the woman who brings the baby is the girl that the young monk fell in love with, causing him to leave the old monk.
How do I support this argument?
I have no hard visual facts, but I think that in some way the veiled mother is a representation of the murdered wife, assuming that the young monk married the girl that he had helped make well again, and because she was murdered she is now a part of the cycle of penance that the young monk is working through, finally removing or discarding the stone that he was carrying in his heart. As to why the veiled woman dies, that I don't know, but I think it falls into a system of cycles, the young monk is now in a position as an older, wiser man to perhaps teach a young person how not to go astray.
Final answer: the veiled woman was a spiritual and physical manifestation of the murdered wife and because she had been murdered.
I think the veiled woman is the woman who came with his future wife in the monastery when she was ill because she prayed on the same way.
shareI agree with you but lets be precise. The veiled woman is mother of girl whom he loved and killed.
We see him as he is watching her and thinking hard about her. In one point he is reaching to uncover her veil but she touches his hand with some ease and forgiveness but crushed with grief. In that touch between them we can see that there must be some connection between them. Then she lives in hurry not to be seen... although she could just leave the child and walk away.
When he find out who she is and whose is that child (could be his or of the man with which his girlfriend run away), he is in situation that he must leave his past and burden behind him. He must take away the stone from his hearth so he could be good master to his apprentice. He binds the stone around him and take the statue to place it high on the mountain cliff watching over the monastery: some symbol of detaching from past, from everything that he is and knows. In my view he wants to be master to child who was left to him but he must be good muster and hence he's realizing that he must become clear with his past and leave all behind him.
Yes, in the end he is like his master teaching the child and once again the child is bothering the animal. Everything goes around in circles; like Nietzsche says that time is not linear but circular. In his thoughts is not truth but determination to open admiration and will of men... like as we are admired by beauty of nature and struggle of man in this movie. Main character has changed himself from root after unveiling the woman, but we just enjoyed the movie while something beautiful unveiled for us.
dvadeset7 - bye George I think he's got it! Cheers!
~What if this is as good as it gets?!~
It's not his wife because he killed her, and it's not his step mother because she would be too old to have a child at this point, and it certainly isn't the child of the man his wife ran away with because that was about 10 years previous.
It's just a woman giving away a baby (probably a child from outside wedlock) who doesn't want to be seen.
I just saw this movie and I don't like overthinking things either. However, seeing as some things in this movie simply don't have a clear meaning it's impossible not to (over)analyze it.
The problem I have with your interpretation is that the child when grown up looks exactly like the monk, therefore I can only assume it has to be his child. Second, when opening the veil that was on her face (after she died) there was a Buddha statue meaning the woman wasn't real. So my conclusion is that this woman was must be the girl the young monk was with.
Again, there is no way to be sure though and everyone can have their own interpretation.
Personally I don't like that about this movie. An ending that's open to interpretation is frustrating... but understandable in some instances. This movie however is littered with it and I for one have no clue what it all means.
No...
What cubasfinest said is the correct interpretation and there is no room for another.
His wife is dead (the young monk killed her), and his wife would be around 45/50 years old by this point, anyway.
His wife's mother/stepmother would be 60-80 at that point.
The woman was a nobody, covering her face from shame.
Wow, it seems like Americans like to overanalyze buddist-themed Asian films to death. This film is open to interpretation, but it's not a thriller and probably the most logical reasoning is that the veiled woman is just an unknown woman who wants to give her child up to become a monk. She was ashamed of her wrongdoing so she disguised herself under a veil. That's how it goes in East Asian mentality. Her falling into the frozen lake is more like an accident to me, although the old monk feels guilty for that and punishes himself.
shareWow, it seems like Americans like to overanalyze buddist-themed Asian films to death.
It's not his wife because he killed her, and it's not his step mother because she would be too old to have a child at this point, and it certainly isn't the child of the man his wife ran away with because that was about 10 years previous.
It's a circle. (Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter-Spring).
Mother was veiled to being ashamed, that she is no more able to taking responsibilities of her child. Maybe that son is illegal. Also maybe she is veiled not to see her adorable child's face, not to change her mind to give up her son.
That is possible, does purple have a special meaning in Korean, or Asian culture in general?
shareThe veiled lady was his extra marital affair and the child was his own. That is why he carried the stone along with him till the top of the mountain, as his master told that if any of the animals are killed because of you, you will have to carry that stone for the rest of your life.. remember that?
He himself had an extra marital affair while he killed his wife because she had an affair :)
Now the circle will go like this :)
I believe she was a general mother figure, the point was to have the cycle start over again.
Esta es mi firma
What really made me come to board after seeing the movie is the question if hiding one's face/identity when leaving children to others has *actual* roots in Buddhist and/or Korean tradition.
Other than than, symbol per se is pretty much easy to embrace.
I would love if someone knowledgeable would reply regarding that specific.