Jae-Kyung Seo, Jong Ho Kim, Kim Young-Min

This film takes place in an isolated lake, where an old monk lives on a small floating temple. The wise master has also a young boy with him that teaches to become a monk. And we watch as seasons and ...( read more  read more... )years pass by.

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93% liked it

23,114 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

91 critics

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Ki-duk Kim

Release Date: September 19, 2003

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DVD Release Date: September 7, 2004

Stats: 1,414 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,414)


  • September 22, 2009
    It?s not Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, its Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring!
    Anyway, this is a beautiful masterpiece, highly recommended!
  • August 12, 2009
    um, seriously... watch it! should've been called innocence, experience, abhorrence, redemption... protecting innocence! kim ki-duk who's in the film in the winter section and is also the director should be widely celebrated by all cultures in watching this film about the human co...( read more)ndition. it would be a shame if all people who avoided subtitles never saw this. man, i wanna strangle them and bring them all to their senses until they defecate and reluctantly watch this, only to be bombarded with unbridled enjoyment
  • May 28, 2009
    I dunno, pretty decent. Not a repeat film by any means.
  • March 16, 2009
    a wonderful piece of cinematography.
  • June 25, 2008
    Kim Ki-Duk delivers again a truly beautiful masterpiece. I consider him to be one of the greatest filmmakers ever. Yet another dreamlike, slow paced film that's nothing more than a excellent package. The character development in Kim's movies is his strongest thing. Also the cinem...( read more)atography delivers beautiful images to the viewers eyes. Higly recommended!
  • November 20, 2009
    true timeless masterpiece, this is like the miniature of life, simply a legendary movie, the best asian film i've ever seen so far..
  • October 20, 2009
    A really lovely, mellow movie. A haunting blend of purity and tragedy, set at a breathtaking scenery, with bits of Korean wisdom taught from man upon man. Truly a mesmerizing film, wherein actions speak louder than words.
  • October 5, 2009
    A review by Alberto Ehrler.

    One of the most important aspects of cinema is the way it represents culture and transmits a country's beliefs to the rest of the world. You find yourself watching foreign films and contemplating a variety of subjects which you would never even have...( read more) thought of, and eveloping yourself in said country's culture, at first with some restraint and shock, at the end with deep empathy and profound understanding. Korea, for example, is a country I know very little about, and with the exception of Chan-Woong Park's masterpiece "Old Boy", I had never seen a Korean film which truly moved me and which brought me closer to understanding their different culture. Kim Ki-Duk's "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring" changed my way of thinking, and it became one of the most breath-taking and marvelous film experiences I've ever had.

    It's a surprisingly simple yet profoundly emotional film, that's about nothing and everything at the same time. It all takes place in a floating house that silently drifts atop a gorgeous river deep within a vast, forgotten forest. Nature here is unharmed and unfrequented by man, and everything is peaceful, stunningly beautiful and quietly sublime. In this floating house live an old, wise Buddhist monk (Young-Soo Oh) and his child apprentice (Young-Min Kim), living in utter harmony with nature and perfecting a profound relationship with their God through meditation and humble living. The film follows these two characters through different stages in their lives and through different seasons; we see the boy grow taller and become a man, and we see the monk grow older and nearer to death. The innocence and natural bliss is interrupted when a young girl (Yeo-Jin Ha) arrives to stay in the floating house to cure herself from sickness, and this awakes feelings the boy never even knew he was capable of feeling.

    The point of the film is precisely that- to expose the emotions and feelings of human beings in their natural state. Few things happen in the film, but every single scene pertains to a human emotion, and is depicted in such a sublime and poignant way that we identify with them all and cheer for the sheer wonderment we're being shown. Everything moves according to Buddhism too, and we're introduced to various Buddhist principles, simple yet memorable life lessons and a deeper sense of spirituality. There is little dialogue in the film (and I mean little), but that's all for the best; words are useless when you have such raw emotion going on screen. There is a fair use of imagery and metaphor too- the animals that inhabit the floating house, the direction the house floats towards, even the changing seasons...not only do they deepen the supernatural meaning of the events, but point towards a higher meaning of the universe and how human nature distorts and tries to remedy what could be utter perfection.

    The film lasts a little less than two hours, and even though there's few dialogue and seldom any events, the power, elegance and profundity of the images presented keep you transfixed to the screen, experimenting a variety of thoughts and ideas. Ki-Duk Kim combines breath-taking landscapes, metaphors, a trance-inducing score and masterful cinematography to convey interesting points of view in life and to perfectly exemplify the truth behind Buddhism.

    The film opens itself to a thorough analysis, and a viewer could spend hours writing paragraph after paragraph about the meaning of each scene. But I rather sit back and let the film wash over me, awakening an explosion of thoughts which would take me hours to write down but which instantly make sense in my mind. Little by little, you will begin to make sense out of many things (including Buddhist rituals you have no idea what they mean), and you will begin to feel as if you've drawn something important and trascendental from what you've seen, and that even though you can't put your finger on it, you are aware of its presence in your mind.

    Works of art just don't get any better than this. And with this kind of film, it's safe to say that Korea has made itself an everlasting place on the map as one of the countries who has produced one of the most important films the world has seen. I highly recommend it!

    Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!
  • November 21, 2009
    in this movie,Kim Ki-duk proves that sometimes,dialogue isn't important in order to capture the poignant feelings and emotions.this is a "talk less do more" movie,and with a little dialogue on screen,really captured all the philosophy of life through the four seasons of circle of...( read more) life (as the title suggest).
  • September 11, 2009
    Review coming someday...

    98/100

Critic Reviews


May 4, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Somber, serene and stirring. full review

May 7, 2004
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Beautifully composed as the film is, it borders on preciousness. full review

April 16, 2004
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Unlike many movies, this one feels completely organic, as if there's no other way it could play out but this. full review

April 16, 2004
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

If Tarantino's film is built to thrill, Spring, Summer is made to last. full review

March 31, 2004
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Kim Ki Duk, in this exquisitely simple movie, manages to isolate something essential about human nature and at the same time to comprehend the scope of human experience. full review

View more Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • Diyaz
    September 17, 2006
    This movie really shows how mysterious, beatiful, and sad life can be. I guarantee that those who watch this will react with flows of emotion.
    This is story rememberable

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts


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Spring, Summer, F... : Watch Free on TV


Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring Trivia

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... a... Trivia


  • Lets see who knows the good films. LETS BEGIN WITH KOREAN CINEMA Who directed these 4 films - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter .. and Spring - 3-Iron - Real Fiction - Address Unknown  Answer »
  • Which of these films was NOT directed by Ang Lee?  Answer »
  • What religion does Kim Ki-Duk, the director of "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" subscribe to?  Answer »

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