In the film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, to begin with the director Kim Ki-duk himself appears as the man in the last stage of the life. But it is to be noted at the same time that the quiet and contemplative film represents a significant change from his previous works, which were often criticized for excessive violence and misogyny. In short, Spring, Summer, Winter, Autumn …and Spring happens to be something of a self conscious art film. There may be one reason on the part of the director Kim Ki-duk to make this film. He has always been reputed for making movies that deal exclusively with violent sexual imagery, but he's not fooling anyone. Spring, Summer, in this way is certainly an exception and definitely in a much more restrained form, than most of the themes from his earlier works like The Isle and Bad Guy. However, this film in an explicit manner contains the noble discourses and also several treatises of the Buddhist philosophy. It can also be regarded as one of the finest specimens of the interesting juxtaposition of the old and new. The film at the very outset does begin in the month of Spring of an undefined year that is close to the present and in a isolated lake. The next it is shown that child acolyte lives out a life of quiet meditation and is perturbed by the periodic acts of petty animal cruelty. His master is a monk, who observes his young charge with escalating displeasure and orders him to undo his evil or face the consequences in his own life. It soon becomes apparent that he means this in anything but in the symbolic sense. While moving through the seasons, Kim explores the "cycle of life". It is also found that he along with his disciple is going through youthful love (or lust), anger, violence and finally acceptance, contrition and peace. The motion picture however ends with the appearance of a new acolyte, while involving a continuous recurrence with subtle variation! What can be said? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is not exactly a subtle film but is done in the most beautiful manner. The director keeps no stone unturned to exploit the silence like a very few other renowned filmmakers, matching Kurosawa or Bergman at their best. On the other hand, he takes all suitable measures to punctuate these long slow movements with abrupt changes in tempo – such as the arrival of Yeo. At this juncture the mood of the movie changes and the pace of the movie quicken. In this regard it can be said, that the courtship of the adolescent boy and girl are some of the gentlest scenes in this very cinema.

Lastly, it should be mentioned, that the manner in which the popular Buddhist and Confucian ideas at the present time, are so resolutely established in the realm of cinema, the audience looking at the film would not be in any such quandary position. But what can be the exact lesson of the film? The film in the most explicit manner illustrates that uncontrollable desire leads to possessive urges, which in due course lead to violence. In addition, ones violent actions lead on to violence against oneself; peace (and redemption) is found not through approbation, but understanding oneself.