Despite the title, this film is not about a year, but about a lifetime that
takes place at a hermitage on a beautiful tiny island/dock in the middle of a
lake. A young boy is raised by a monk
and goes through struggles, rebellion, despair, and eventually returns to take
the place of the monk. The protagonist
must make changes in his own attitudes and how he sees the world in order to
fit where he belonged in the first place.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring reminds us that no matter what
struggle or difficulty we find ourselves in, no matter how the world seems to
encroach on our freedoms and our abilities to do what we must, in the end, our
lives are a cycle, the world is a part of a larger cycle, and all things come
back to where they should me, if we would but endure. At times, being who we should be then patiently
enduring in that being is the best we can do, and we can watch the world return
to where it should be.
Also watch: Wild Strawberries, Ikiru, Temple Grandin, Boyhood
Keep reading other posts in the series: The Way Forward
