Somewhere between a meditation and a visual poem, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... And Spring tells the tale of a young boy reared by a monk on a temple floating on the middle of a wooded lake.
The film is divided into five parts, with each season representing a period in the boy's life. In spring, the boy learns about grief when his childish games kill some animals. In summer, the boy, now a teen, falls in love and his desire ultimately drives him out of his haven. In autumn, he returns, damaged and corrupted by the outside. In winter, he again returns, his master dead and the temple in disrepair. Finally in spring, he finds himself rearing an orphan boy, just as he himself was raised.
The ideal of life being cyclical is hardly new, and while lovely to look at, Spring, Summer doesn't cover any fresh ground. For Buddhists and others of similar metaphysical ilk, this is an ideal film, full of symbology and subtle meaning. Anyone else will find it long, ponderous, and for one-fifth, an example of Ki-duk's narcissism.