← Back to results
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄
2003 103 min South Korea, Germany R 18+
★8.3
Drama
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Trailers
Description
An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.
US Gross:
$2.38M
Worldwide:
$8.95M
Starring
Kim Ki-duk
Actor
Oh Yeong-su
Actor
Jong-ho Kim
Actor
Awards
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2003
— Audience Award
European Film Awards 2003
— Screen International Award
Key opinion
This film is widely celebrated as a masterful, meditative visual allegory that uses the cyclical nature of seasons to explore human growth, suffering, and wisdom. While most viewers praise its profound atmospheric beauty and philosophical depth, a minority of critics argue that the narrative is hollow, repetitive, or fails to offer genuine spiritual insight.
| Cinematography | The cinematography effectively captures the serene natural environment, creating a visual language that feels both poetic and timeless. | |
| Theme | The film utilizes the four seasons as a powerful structural metaphor to represent the stages of life, karma, and the cycle of suffering. | |
| Pacing | The narrative's minimalist, near-silent approach to storytelling rewards patient viewers, though it leaves others feeling the plot is stagnant or underdeveloped. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is viewed by many as a rich, layered Buddhist parable, while detractors contend that the plot relies on primitive repetition and lacks true spiritual or logical substance. |