Palwolui Keuriseumaseu

This is, without a doubt, one of the most accomplished debut films for any director. The Movie is only 90 minutes long, but manages to say just about everything about life and death. Not much action, and dialogue is minimal, but the movie flows perfectly and demands your attention due to the wonderfully natural feel of everything going on. The performances by the leads are perfection, and even some supporting characters get strong emotional scenes. The movie will be somewhat lost on today's modern audience, but this is one that everyone ought to see.Refreshingly unsentimental and honest, this is on par with Ozu's works.

Scratch my title, this one is perfect!

Last time I checked in here I think there was no more than one comment. I'm very glad that more people have caught on this flick now,and even more so about you all digging it as well. I caught this the night of Christmas 2004,and I found myself unable to change the channel on my TV,even though it was an Asian flick-and I'm-sadly but truly-very used not to give any chance to any Off-Hollywood products. I did that night,though,and I thank God deeply for it. I've not been able to shake that movie out of my system since-not that I've tried to or wanted to-and it still amazes me-in an extremely grateful way-that such a great,beautiful experience came in such a way,completely unexpected,like a Christmas Miracle.Please,if you got the chance go see this movie,buy it or rent it of bootleg it or whatever,but watch it. I guarantee it will affect you. I'm out of time,but I'm far from finished with my appraissal here,so Ill be back as soon as I can.

I am surprised I sit through the whole movie despite knowing the plot.

No earth-shaking romance here and yet this film left me shaken after the credits rolled...

No great lines of declaration of affection from the main characters and yet I was overwhelmed by the quiet suppression to profess their mutual attraction...

No hugs and kisses and yet the undercurrents of passion were strong and intense...

No happily-ever-after ending and yet the soul of the bond lingered even after the departure of the male lead....

Veteran Korean actor Han Suk-kyu and newcomer Shim Eun-ha delivered such a believable performance as ordinary persons in a hardly adventurous setting that I am convinced that this belies the film's beauty and appeal.

Han handled his role masterfully as a terminally-ill photo-shop owner living his last days when Shim came (timely/untimely?) into his life. Hiding his condition from both family and close friends, his agony was pitiful and this was especially expressed in a narration during a night of drinking with his friend: "I finally joked about the truth".

However, his pain of suffering in silence was juxtaposed with his laughter in Shim's presence. She was his light at his most gloomy moments and her friendship was so precious in times of hopelessness and helplessness. Shim was attractive in her boldness when initiating advances on Han. However, this was withdrawn when Han did not respond in a distinct manner that she was seeking. Nonetheless, her persistence was exhibited in her continual wait outside Han's shop without knowledge of his hospitalisation. That was finally challenged when she threw a rock into his shop, breaking the display window (others say it's an uninhibited act of female tantrum but I'll call it "character").... Many moments were captured by imagery (an 'Asian' style?) instead of words, showing that verbal conversations are not the only means to express deep emotions.

There were several sweet moments involving secondary characters as well. For instance, Han and his sister spitting watermelon seeds in a childlike manner, Han writing down video-recording instructions for his hard-hearing father and the old lady who dressed up in her best to take her funeral portrait in advance.

The ending was well done in that it was not overtly sorrowful (as in typical Hollywood tearjerkers) and showed that love was stronger than cancer and love overcame death. Han's last words, although most probably not communicated to Shim, were simple yet heart-wrenching.

While Titanic sank, to me, Christmas in August will float above the plane of time, remaining an endearing, unfinished love story.

If I have to go down on my knees to coax u to watch this film, I would.

If you are one of those audience that expect high impact, lots of kisses, and soap opera plots from a love story, this might not be the right movie for you. The movie is quiet and yet its pace and mode really speak for itself. There are sadness to the movie and yet many scenes bring sweetness and tenderness between the main character and the people around him. The scene of Jung-won (the main character) and his sister spitting watermelon seeds; Jung-won writing out instructions of how to use the VCR remote for his father (reminds me of Michael Keaton in "My Life"); the ticketing girl's gesture of love by sitting closer and closer to Jung-won at the park, the old lady coming back to take her very last picture in her life; all these scenes are simple and yet they are so real and really capture audiences' heart. The ticketing girl is weird and cute. Her character definitely contributes a lot to the movie.

If you can sit through the first 15 minutes of the movie, then you are in for a great movie. Very well done.

A photographer in the small city of Gunsan in South Korea learns that he has a terminal illness but downplays the seriousness of it to his family and friends. We never find out the nature of the disease but the main focus of Hur Jin-ho's poignant first film Christmas in August is not his illness. It is the grace in which he conducts his life - his ability to accept what life has in store without remorse. Sadly, it was the final film shot by cinematographer Yoo Young-kil before his death, and the film is dedicated to his memory.

The photographer, Jung-won, is played by Han Suk-kyu, at one time, Korea's most popular star. A handsome man in his early thirties with an infectious laugh, he is so warm and full of vitality that it is difficult to picture him as nearing the end of life. Jung-won owns a small photography shop and lives at home with his hard of hearing father (Goo Shin) and sister (Oh Ji-hye), teaching his dad how to play movies on the VCR, and writing instructions for him to take over his shop if he were to die. As Jung-won goes about the day-to-day business of getting his affairs in order, Dar-im (Shim Eun-ha), a meter reader, comes into his store with an urgent request for some photographic enlargements.

Abrupt and impatient, he treats her with disdain but later apologizes and she becomes a regular customer. Without overt expression of romantic feelings, their relationship develops a growing intimacy. Love is not something they say or do. It is their ground of being, the place where they come from. To protect Dar-im from suffering, Jung-won does not tell her that he has only a short time to live but this does not make the situation any easier for her. Inevitably his increasing absence from the shop causes her to feel betrayed and frustrated to the point where she throws a rock through the shop's window. Although Jung-won's decision to withhold his illness from Dar-im is open to question, it feels organic to his character in the film and is not used simply as a plot device or an excuse for the character to "live life to the fullest" by playing around.

One of the most touching sequences in the film is when an elderly woman returns to his studio to take a memorial photo of herself. Jung-won makes sure the picture is an exact likeness, knowing that soon he will be taking his own picture of remembrance. Christmas in August is an unpretentious film that never resorts to melodrama to make its point. It is about taking pleasure in ordinary moments: riding a bike, sharing a joke, eating ice cream, being thoughtful and considerate, and feeling good about what life has to offer. It is a love story where love means having to say you're sorry. Although there have been many films on the dying process, Christmas in August propels the genre in a new direction and, in the process, offers an unforgettable commentary on the human condition. Incongruously, this film about death is an experience of the utmost joy.