Over the course of five seasons, an aging Buddhist monk bestows his wisdom onto a receptive young boy on his floating temple. As the years go by, the pupil is lead astray by his carnal desires.

A far cry from his earlier provocations, master agitator Kim-Ki Duk embraces serenity in this gorgeously lensed contemplation of mortality and nature. Raptly observant and inconspicuously wise, this delicately spiritual film evokes the fleeting sorrow and beauty of existence.