While French actress Marina Vlady recites Jorge Luis Borges’ story “The Immortal” in an abandoned theater, Japanese marine biologist Kuboda praises the “immortal jellyfish” on the other side of the globe, restorers repair statues in Milan Cathedral, a musical Swiss couple practice the Hang, a percussion instrument, and Native American maintain their tribe’s long-standing spiritual resistance. This outstanding documentary examines various people’s pursuit of immortality, although superficially, there appears to be no connection between them. The five episodes are amalgamated into desires for harmony in all creation and philosophical duties, with the principle of the universe and human life as objects of study. The title of the film comes from a logarithmic spiral used in mathematics and physics, re-named The Marvelous Spiral by Bernoulli, as it consistently regenerates under diverse changes. The Marvelous Spiral proves that the veteran documentary filmmaker couple’s efforts, and their huge investment of time and money, have not been wasted. The five stories symbolize this special medium of film and the four elements making up the universe: water, earth, wind and fire. (RHEE Souewon)