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." Set "The hermitage that is the stage for Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is an artificially constructed set made to float on top of Jusanji Pond in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. Created about 200 years ago, Jusanji Pond () is an artificial lake in which the surrounding mountains are reflected in its waters. It retains the mystical aura of having trees more than one hundred years old still growing along its shores. LJ Film was able to obtain permission to build the set after finally convincing the Ministry of Environment through six months of negotiations." Reception Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring was acclaimed by film critics, holding a 95% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an 85 out of 100 on Metacritic. 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 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 5 among the classics of modern