20 Amazing South Korean Movies You Must See Before You Die
15. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring
At the other end of the spectrum from modern Korean blockbuster cinema's high-octane actioners and eccentric romances, there is arthouse auteur Kim Ki-duk's contemplative story of the life cycle of a Buddhist monk.
Taking place entirely on a small floating monastery in a lake amongst the serene forested Korean countryside, the film tells a story set across the five seasons of the title, each at ten or twenty year intervals, to show a child novice monk grow to take the place of his master.
Spring, Summer... is a slow, meditative film packed with spiritual symbolism, but that shouldn't make you think that it is a boring or simple one. Here too are grand, universal themes and ideas. There is a story of sex, murder and redemption amongst the quiet observation of the passage of time.
Just on a pure visual artistry level, the cinematography of Spring, Summer... is stunning, packed with beautifully composed long shots which demonstrate Buddhist concepts of living in harmony with the natural world.
Declared by critics such as Roger Ebert one of the great movies of the twenty-first century, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring is one for all the art-loving cinephiles out there.