Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Kim Ki-duk
Oh Yeong-su
Kim Ki-duk
Jae-kyung Seo
Ha Yeo-jin
Kim Jong-ho
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The sole occupants of a secluded hermitage are an Old Monk and his boy protege Child Monk. While exploring the world in and around their secluded idyll, Child Monk indulges in the capricious cruelties of boyhood. After tying stones to a fish, a frog, and a snake, Child Monk. The doors open again on Boy Monk now aged 17 who meets a woman making a pilgrimage with her spiritually ill daughter. After a furtive but tender tryst in the abbey's rowboat, the lovers are discovered by Old Monk. The girl, now healed, is sent back to her mother. Forsaking his monastery home, the infatuated Boy Monk follows her. Long absent from the monastery, Young Adult Monk, now a thirty year old fugitive, returns to the abbey raft still consumed by a jealous rage that has compelled him to commit a violent crime. The Old Monk instructs Young Adult Monk to carve Pranjaparpamita (Buddhist) sutras into the hermitage's deck in order to find peace in his heart. Two policemen arrive at the abbey to arrest Young Adult Monk but thanks to Old Monk, they let Young Adult Monk continue carving the sutras. Young Adult Monk collapses from exhaustion and the two policemen finish decorating the sutras before taking Young Adult Monk into custody. Alone again, Old Monk prepares a ritual funereal pyre for himself. The doors open on the now frozen pond and abandoned monastery. The now mature Adult Monk returns to train himself for the penultimate season in his spiritual journey-cycle. A veiled woman arrives bearing an infant that she leaves in Adult Monk's care. The doors open once again on a beautiful spring day. Grown from a child to a man and from a novice to a master, Adult Monk has been reborn as teacher for his new protege. Together, Adult Monk and his young pupil are to start the cycle anew.
Director
Kim Ki-duk
Cast
Oh Yeong-su
Kim Ki-duk
Jae-kyung Seo
Ha Yeo-jin
Kim Jong-ho
Kim Jung-young
Ji Dae-han
Choi Min
Song Min-young
Park Ji-ah
Kim Yeong-min
Kim Young-im
Crew
Karl Baumgartner
Park Bo-geun
Ulrike Bojahr
Ku Bon-seung
Kang Boo-kyung
Jang Chul-soo
Jang Chul-soo
Soma Chung
Kim Dae-kyung
Lee Do-hyun
Baek Dong-hyun
Baek Dong-hyun
Lee Dong-joo
Shin Eun-joo
Lee Eun-ju
Noh Eun-kyun
Han Gi-ub
Raimond Goebel
Lee Gyu-nim
Park Hami
Mantred Hansen
Lee Hee-kyung
Eun Hee-won
Kim Hee-yeon
Han Song Hillmann
Noh Hong-jin
Seji Horiuchi
Kim Hye-sook
Lee Hyun-su
Moon Hyung-joon
Choi Hyung-sun
Im Hyung-tae
Jin Il-kyu
Seo In-ae
Shim In-ho
Kim In-kyun
Kim In-wook
Lee Jae-in
Yoon Jae-kyun
Choi Jae-won
Shim Jae-won
Lee Jae-wook
Bae Jeong-min
Park Ji
Lee Ji-hye
Yoon Ji-yoon
Ok Jin-gon
Song Jin-hwa
Lee Jin-sook
Im Jin-sung
Kim Jin-sung
Park Jong-gyu
Moon Jong-kyu
Kim Joo-hee
Hwang Joo-hyun
Park Joon-chul
Lee Jung-bae
Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk
Won Ki-joo
Moon Ki-yoon
Stephan Konken
Lee Kwang-soon
Son Kyu-sik
Kim Kyung-hwan
Kim Kyung-mi
Hyun Kyung-sun
Yoon Mi-ra
Song Min-geun
Kim Min-heui
Kim Min-heui
Kim Moon-su
Baek Myung-sun
Roland Nothe
Kim Sang-geun
Son Sang-hoon
Kim Sang-il
Lee Sang-kyu
Oh Sang-man
Lee Seung-jae
Lee Shin-ho
Kim Soheui
Oh Song
Lee Su-yeon
Kim Sun-moon
Kim Sung-eun
Han Sung-hoon
Lee Sung-jin
Kim Tae-hwan
Shin Tae-sub
Rainer Tausner
Elena Trifonova
Oh Woon
Jens York Fischer
Jin Young-irwa
Park Young-min
Lee Young-soon
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Spring April 2, 2004
Released in United States on Video September 7, 2004
Released in United States August 2003
Released in United States 2004
Released in United States January 2004
Shown at Locarno International Film Festival August 6-16, 2003.
Shown at New Directors/New Films series at the Film Society of Lincoln Center March 24 - April 4, 2004.
Sony Pictures Classics acquired North American distribution rights at the 2003 Toronto International Festival.
Released in United States Spring April 2, 2004 (NY, LA)
Released in United States on Video September 7, 2004
Released in United States August 2003 (Shown at Locarno International Film Festival August 6-16, 2003.)
Released in United States 2004 (Shown at New Directors/New Films series at the Film Society of Lincoln Center March 24 - April 4, 2004.)
Released in United States January 2004 (Shown at Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema) January 15-25, 2004.)
