The Cycle of Life Continues in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring

The film was Korea's entry for the 2004 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The title reveals the film is going to be about the cyclical nature of life and of man. The setting is a monastery that floats on a lake surrounded by mountains, and the events take place over the course of about 50 years. The story is broken into five chapters, one for each season in the title. Not only do the chapters take place during those seasons, but they are also corresponding to times in one man's life as he grows from small child to an old man. Every chapter starts with a title card of the season. Then ornate doors, which sit on the banks of the lake, open up to reveal a monk's monastery.

During Spring, Old Monk raises Child Monk. Child gets into some cruel mischief by tying rocks around animals. To teach the child a lesson Old Monk ties a large rock around the child and sends him off to find the animals he bound the day before. Old Monk warns him that if any of the animals died he'd carry the stone in his heart the rest of his life.

During Summer, Child has grown into Boy Monk, 17 years old. A young girl is brought out to the monastery to be healed. Old Monk tells her mother, "When she finds peace in her soul, her body will return to health." The girl intrigues the Boy and their flirtation leads to a love affair. The Old Monk discovers them. The girl is healed and returns to her mother, and Boy leaves the monastery to follow her.

During Fall, the Boy has become a 30-year old Young Adult. The filmmaker chose the word "Fall" as opposed to "Autumn" since this chapter is also about the fall of the Young Adult. He returns to the monastery a fugitive for killing the girl from Summer due to her infidelity. He is given the penance of carvings a series of Buddhist sutras into the deck of the monastery. Two police detectives arrive. They talk with the Old Monk and he convinces them to let Young Adult finish his task to purge the feelings and atone for his actions. They agree and take Young Adult away when he finishes. Old Monk creates a funeral pyre in a boat and kills himself.