[HanCinema's Film Review] "On the Road"

Director Lee Chang-jae was refused entry to Baekhungam Temple several times before the nuns there finally agreed to let her film "On the Road". This refusal probably had less to do with religious reasons or even privacy so much as they weren't even sure what Lee Chang-jae wanted. The lives of Buddhist nuns aren't terribly interesting. The exams are about as exciting as temple life gets, and even those aren't that much different than anyone else's exams anywhere else.

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Maybe that's the point here- to demonstrate that nuns aren't really that much different than anyone else, save for their general vows of moderation. Well, Lee Chang-jae certainly succeeds in showing off that much. The closest we get to excitement is when a small group of nuns on the road utilize a peculiar brand of locomotion to get from one place to another. Otherwise they do little more than chant, or mill about reflectively in their general surroundings.

There are also stories- of how some of the nuns came to be in the convent, what they were hoping for then, what they are hoping for now. Again, this is nothing particularly fantastic. Even when going over some of the more negative facets of daily life, "On the Road" never makes any kind of definitive statement. It's just, we're nuns. That's who we are.

While lacking in spiritual mystique, there's definite human commonality in this documentary that's easy to identify with. It's rather remarkable how, even at their very worst, the nuns demonstrate stress so mild it doesn't even qualify as annoyance. One nun has lived nearly her whole life at the convent, whereas another was more worldy in her previous life and did a fair amount of traveling. In both cases, there's not really any sense of regret at having lost anything. Curiousity, perhaps, but nothing more.

It's an interesting contrast to make with ourselves, as viewers of the film. Why is it that some are so interested in this kind of monasticism, even if very few of us would be willing to endure this kind of simple lifestyle any longer than just a templestay? Is it the the fantasy of communing with spirit and nature? While "On the Road" makes a big point of showing off the ecological beauty of the world where the nuns live, all the same, to these nuns this is just everyday life. It's the simplicity and reliability of the imagery that appeals to them rather than any kind of modern fantasy about going back to nature.

There's honestly very little to meaningful say about "On the Road" that the documentary itself doesn't say much better. This is a story that's just sort of aggressively there. Take that as a metaphor for human existence if you will- while we can over the minutae of how we got to where we are, in the end it really doesn't matter. Life doesn't end in death, it just continues moving forward in continuity. It's this spiritual meaning that really gives relevance to the title "On the Road". As religion, Buddhism here isn't really ritual so much as it is a state of mind.

Review by William Schwartz

"On the Road" is directed by Lee Chang-jae