Beyond the Mountain (1991)

In the opening sequence of Chung Ji-young's Beyond The Mountain, we are shown an image and reverse-image of large, wooden prayer beads that the High Priest uses to keep track of his prayers. As the first film I saw at the 2nd International Buddhist Film Festival in San Francisco, the resemblance of the clockwise/counter-clockwise rotation of the prayer beads to that of the reels of a film projector could not be missed. So when the beads break up from the hands of The High Priest and he uses this as an opportunity to teach his young student - and audience of all ages - about the need to let go of attachments to all things, the scene also cautions us that cinematic attempts to portray Buddhism may inevitably fail, since Buddhism is primarily meant to be practiced and experienced rather than imagined and thought.

Still, the Buddhist tenet advising one to let go of all desires because it is these attachments to desires that cause us suffering is an interesting way to structure a love story. And along with the Buddhist koans, Beyond The Mountain is very much a love story. Chim-hae (Choi Jin-young, the younger brother of actress Choi Jin-shil) is an about-to-be-ordained, young monk who, since he was orphaned, has been under the tutelage of the temple's High Priest (Jeon Mu-song, who has appeared in quite a few Buddhist-themed films, such as Mandala, Come, Come, Come Upward, and A Little Monk, as well as non-Buddhist films such as Gagman, My Love, My Bride, Silver Stallion and Harmonium in My Memory). Being a handsome monk, Chim-hae causes schoolgirl commotions whenever he arrives at the nunnery across the way. Similarly, there is a nun-in-training, Myo-heun (Kim Keum-yong) who causes schoolboy palpitations amongst the other young monks. Myo-heun and Chim-hae are reciprocal objects of each others desire, and the primary tension within the film revolves around their handful of secret rendezvous that are further constrained by their calling's hands-off requirements of abstinence. One of the more interesting moments of letting go is during a meeting where Chim-hae lets go of his desire for food in favor of feeding his desire for love, hinting at the pedestrian complications that arise when competing desires of necessity - at least within accordance of my own personal moral values - are within conflict.

And as is often the case with love stories involving young people, this is also a coming-of-age story. Both characters are deciding whether their particular path is one they wish to follow into adulthood, regardless of whether or not their elders may attempt to disallow certain decisions. We will learn later that both Chim-hae and Myo-heun began from different life starting points, particularly affected by their individual gendered positions, which come into play with their final decisions.

As a whole, the film works for me, entertaining enough while encouraging contemplation of Buddhist precepts and basic struggles that make all of us humble humans. Choi Jin-young's performance is exemplary, and Kim Keum-yong plays her reserved character with an underlying strength that belies any stereotype of the complacent female. Both won prizes for New Actor and New Actress respectively at the 12th Blue Dragon (Cheongryong) Awards. Their secret meetings are full of expressive facial gestures that convey even more than their precise words. There is a wonderful scene involving a Korean traditional dance that provided me with my first moment of appreciation for that artform. (Plus, the Kitaro/Yanni-esque score by Shin Byeong-ha didn't ruin scenes for me as that musical genre tends to do, but added nice emotive tones as all good scores should.) The character of The High Priest does step over the line of too much mysticism for me, but for the most part, the character is contained within a realistic portrayal of meditative awareness.

As in Mandala, a monk 'of the world' is present. Beob-yeon (Jang In-hwan - Road To Sampo) is drunk throughout the entire film and is developed as someone who has partaken in more monk-forbidden fruits than just the fermented kind. His way of experiencing Buddhism is placed up against The High Priest's. Moreover, both are extremes, although not necessarily opposite extremes, against which Chim-hae and Myo-heun must balance their own desires, their own spiritual directions. The quite shocking conclusion resolves each character's storyline quite well, while the ending closes with an excellent use of non-diegetic, yet diegetic, sound. We do not end at peace, but with awareness that life is a constant struggle. We may stray from our paths at times, and such excursions may end in tragedy, but we may also find our way back, or discover it is the excursion that saved us, that put us on the track we were supposed to be on, not to begin with, but to begin again with.


Beyond the Mountain ("Sansani buseojin ireumiyeo") Directed by Chung Ji-young. Screenplay by Chung Ji-young and Jo Young-cheol, based on an original text by Go Eun. Starring Choi Jin-young (Chim-hae), Kim Geum-yong (Myo-heun), Jang In-hwan (Beob-yeon), Jeon Mu-song (High Priest), Shin Sung-il (Jin-gong), Jeon Sook (Yi-tan), Jo Ju-mi (Myo-ryeon). Cinematography by Yu Young-gil. Produced by Sung-il Cinemat. 108 min, 35mm, color. Rating received on May 20, 1991. Released on May 25, 1991. Total admissions (Seoul): 10,440. Winner of Best New Actor and Best New Actress at the 12th Blue Dragon Awards.