Changing stages of life

When a film has a title like “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring” it’s clearly not a “Kill Bill” knockoff. And in fact this unhurried Korean effort is as meditative and beautiful as its title would indicate. What is a surprise is the extent to which it manages to be involving if you can put yourself on its wavelength.

Given that “Spring, Summer’s” director is Kim Ki-Duk, the designated mischief-maker of South Korean cinema, the fact that we’re not dealing with a “Kill Bill” knockoff turns out to be a bit of a surprise as well. Kim’s best-known film, “The Isle,” was, as one source wrote, “notorious for causing viewers to scream, vomit and pass out at its Venice premiere.”

With “Spring, Summer,” by contrast, an opening panoramic shot of a minuscule Buddhist island monastery perched on a mountain lake of stunning tranquillity reveals an intense fable-like quality as well as the leisurely way things are likely to unfold.

The film’s production company apparently negotiated with South Korea’s Ministry of Environment for six months for permission to build that floating monastery set on Jusan Pond in a national park in North Kyongsang province, and it was time well spent.

The lake and its remarkable serenity are essential in telling this tale -- an unapologetic parable of the ages of man and the cycle of life -- in an unexpectedly persuasive way.

“Spring, Summer’s” initial spring segment introduces an old monk (Oh Young-Soo, a Korean theater veteran), wise in ways of the spirit and soul, and a sprightly boy monk (Kim Young-Min) with foolishness on his mind.

That old monk also knows a thing or two about herbs, and so he and the young one pile into their handsomely painted rowboat for what’s presented as a plant gathering expedition to the shore.

Once on land, the old monk looks on as the tyke ties crippling rocks to a fish, a frog and a snake. The old monk is not amused, castigating the youngster and warning him “you will carry the stone in your heart.” Which pretty much ends the boy’s innocence and that initial spring section.

That pattern of young monk/old monk interaction repeats itself as season succeeds season. The summer has the Y.M. as a teenager lusting after a young woman conveniently hanging at the monastery because, the old one says, “her soul is suffering.” Lust, it turns out, is not the O.M.’s favorite emotion. “Lust arouses desire to possess,” he says, “and that arouses the desire to murder.” Definitely not a good thing.

Obviously, viewed from a jaundiced point of view, these goings-on are susceptible to being seen in a less than serious light. Also, given that the film’s emotions and actions often feel as if they’re being played out in slow motion, the potential for terminal lassitude is also a danger here.

But filmmaker Kim, who plays the Y.M. as an adult starting in the fall segment, refuses to let the film stumble into those traps. He grounds his work in specific Buddhist practices and makes the best possible use of Baek Dong-Hyun’s beautiful nature photography, things like the shimmering of waves and the light playing on green leaves that may sound standard but look ravishing.

Also critical is the intensity Kim brings to conceiving and directing “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring.” Confident in his ability to make this material hypnotic, sure that he has something to say, he is able to convince us that in fact he does.

*

‘Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring’

MPAA rating: R, for some strong sexuality.

Times guidelines: a scene of explicit sexuality

Oh Young-Soo... Old Monk

Kim Young-Min ... Young Monk

Kim Ki-Duk... Adult Monk

Released by Sony Pictures Classics. Director Kim Ki-Duk. Producers Lee Seung-Jae, Karl Baumgartner. Executive producer Soma Chung. Screenplay Kim Ki-Duk. Cinematographer Baek Dong-Hyun. Editor Kim Ki-Duk. Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes.

In limited release.