|
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
(2003)
|
| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
A Separation
(2011)
Drama
Director:
Asghar Farhadi
Stars:
Payman Maadi,
Leila Hatami,
Sareh Bayat
Incendies
(2010)
Drama
|
Mystery
|
War
Director:
Denis Villeneuve
Stars:
Mustafa Kamel,
Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin,
Maxim Gaudette
Talk to Her
(2002)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Pedro Almodóvar
Stars:
Javier Cámara,
Darío Grandinetti,
Leonor Watling
The Return
(2003)
Drama
|
Mystery
|
Thriller
Director:
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Stars:
Vladimir Garin,
Ivan Dobronravov,
Konstantin Lavronenko
Nobody Knows
(2004)
Drama
Director:
Hirokazu Koreeda
Stars:
Yûya Yagira,
Ayu Kitaura,
Hiei Kimura
Drama
Director:
Milos Forman
Stars:
Michael Berryman,
Peter Brocco,
Louise Fletcher
All About My Mother
(1999)
Drama
Director:
Pedro Almodóvar
Stars:
Cecilia Roth,
Marisa Paredes,
Candela Peña
The Edge of Heaven
(2007)
Drama
Director:
Fatih Akin
Stars:
Baki Davrak,
Gürsoy Gemec,
Gengiz Daner
American Beauty
(1999)
Drama
Director:
Sam Mendes
Stars:
Kevin Spacey,
Annette Bening,
Thora Birch
Babel
(2006)
Drama
Director:
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars:
Brad Pitt,
Cate Blanchett,
Mohamed Akhzam
Biutiful
(2010)
Drama
Director:
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars:
Javier Bardem,
Maricel Álvarez,
Hanaa Bouchaib
In a Better World
(2010)
Drama
Director:
Susanne Bier
Stars:
Mikael Persbrandt,
Wil Johnson,
Markus Rygaard
Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
 |
Yeong-su Oh | ... |
Old Monk
(as Young-soo Oh)
|
| Ki-duk Kim | ... |
Adult Monk
|
|
|
|
Young-min Kim | ... |
Young Adult Monk
|
|
|
Jae-kyeong Seo | ... |
Boy Monk
|
|
|
Yeo-jin Ha | ... |
The Girl
|
|
|
Jong-ho Kim | ... |
Child Monk
|
|
|
Jung-young Kim | ... |
The Girl's Mother
|
|
|
Dae-han Ji | ... |
Detective Ji
|
|
|
Min Choi | ... |
Detective Choi
|
|
|
Ji-a Park | ... |
The Baby's Mother
|
|
|
Min-Young Song | ... |
The Baby
|
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
In the midst of the Korean wilderness, a Buddhist master patiently raises a young boy to grow up in wisdom and compassion, through experience and endless exercises. Once the pupil discovers his sexual lust, he seems lost to contemplative life and follows his first love, but soon fails to adapt to the modern world, gets in jail for a crime of passion and returns to the master in search of spiritual redemption and reconciliation with karma, at a high price of physical catharsis... Written by KGF Vissers
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
KoreanRelease Date:
19 September 2003 (South Korea) See more »Also Known As:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
$42,561 (USA) (2 April 2004)Gross:
$2,380,788 (USA) (8 October 2004)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The inscription on the floor is "The Heart Sutra", one of the most important Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism, written in literary Chinese. See more »Goofs
When the old monk holds and strokes the cat, the cat's position changes between shots. See more »Quotes
Old Monk: Lust awakens the desire to possess. And that awakens the intent to murder.See more »
Perfect Simplicity
My review of this film should end with those two words. However, the 10 line minimum requirement that IMDb requires of all reviews belies the differences between my world and the world shown to me in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring. I understand why IMDb does not want 1000's of (apparently) useless two-word reviews in their database. However, I would hope that they could make an exception for this film.
Perfect: The film is as close to perfect as a film could get. No shot is presented to us, nor a line of dialog uttered that does not make us ponder and understand at the same time. The film is also beautiful. (Like the previous reviewer, I am a fan of Asian cinema and never tire of the stunning ability of Asian directors to capture beauty on film.) This film exceeds most other Asian films I have seen in the cinematography regard. However, its beauty is surprisingly deceptive. Like most great films, it surpasses the 'cinematography' level of beauty and delves into the beauty of existence through its story. For example, the Old Monk has a different pet during each 'season' of his life. This is not discussed by the characters nor shoved in our face by the director – as would have been done if Hollywood had done this film. It is merely background we experience and come to understand. Two days after viewing the film, I am still finding new reflections in my mind that encompass the cinematography, the literal story and the underlying context of the film.
Simplicity: This film approaches a level of cinematic Haiku. While I don't recall the entire dialog with any specificity, I am sure you could print the script on one page of paper. The amazing part is that while you are watching the film, you don't notice this. Every shot moves the story along. The simplicity of life as shown by the story is reflected in the simplicity of the film. After the film ended, I had a strong urge to move away from civilization and live – or die – in peace with nature. I enjoy (and have come to be too dependent upon) modern inventions, so I will stay at home. However, this film will remain in my heart. It does exactly what good story-telling is supposed to do: Take us completely out of our world and put us in another. There is no wonder that this film was selected for so many film festivals.