Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Oh Young-soo, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Young-min, Seo Jae-kyeong, Kim Jong-ho, Ha Yeo-jin DIRECTOR: Kim Ki-duk CINEMATOGRAPHY: Baek Dong-hyeon MUSIC: Park Ji-woong PRODUCTION: LJ Film, Korea Pictures, Cineclick Asia, Cinesoul, Mirae Asset Capital, Muhan Investment, Pandora Film

Box Office Performance

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring earned $2,380,788 domestically and $6,564,284 internationally, for a worldwide total of $8,945,072. International markets drove the majority of revenue (73%), indicating strong global appeal.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Director Kim Ki-duk said of the film: "I intended to portray the joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure of our lives through four seasons and through the life of a monk who lives in a temple on Jusan Pond surrounded only by nature."

▸ Music & Score

The traditional song used near the end of the film, while the adult monk is climbing the mountain, is called "Jeongseon Arirang", sung by Kim Young-im. The film score was composed by Ji Bark.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 16 wins & 9 nominations total

Nominations: ○ European Film Award for Best Non-European Film (16th European Film Awards) ○ International Submission to the Academy Awards

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring was acclaimed by film critics. Peter Rainer of New York praised the film's "tranquil beauty" and argued, "Kim exalts nature—life's passage—without stooping to sentimentality. He sees the tooth and claw, and he sees the transcendence. Whether this is a Buddhist attribute, I cannot say, but the impression this movie leaves is profound: Here is an artist who sees things whole." James Berardinelli wrote that the film's pace "is deliberate, but there is too much richness in the movie's emotional tapestry for it to be considered dull or drawn-out. [...] The film raises questions about how we live our lives and how actions, like ripples in the waters of time, can have unexpected consequences years later." Berardinelli also stated that the "perfectly composed shots [amplified] an emotionally resonant story".

Roger Ebert included the film in his Great Movies list in 2009, writing, "The film in its beauty and serenity becomes seductive and fascinating. [...] There is little or no dialogue, no explanations, no speeches with messages. [Ki-duk] descends upon lives that have long since taken their form. If conflict comes, his characters will in some way bring it upon themselves, or within themselves. That causes us to pay closer attention."

In a 2016 international critics' poll conducted by the BBC, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring was voted one of the 100 greatest motion pictures since 2000. In 2020, The Guardian ranked it number five among the classics of modern South Korean cinema.