Abstract:

Chosen by three critics as one of the 10 Best Films of All Time in a recent Sight & Sound poll, this is simply one of the most visually ravishing films ever made. Why did the Indian Monk Bodhi-Dharma, the originator of Zen Buddhism, leave home for China and the far Orient? The tale is a Zen Koan -- an unanswerable riddle that is both a challenge and an encouragement on the path to enlightenment. Why has Bodhi-Dharma Left For East? examines the physical and spiritual struggles of an old master, his young disciple and an orphaned boy in a remote monastery in the mountains of Korea. Bae's recurring motifs of fire, wind and water transform the eternal cycles of birth, death and regeneration into visual poetry. A film of universal appeal, Why has Bodhi Dharma Left for the East? creates a world of astonishing beauty. - An official selection for Cannes' Un Certain Regard and winner of the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, this is a completely original independent masterpiece. Auteur Bae Yong-Kyun produced, wrote, photographed, edited and directed the film over a 10-year span.