Hooray for Korean cinema! Last year I saw "Chungyang" and "Nowhere to hide", now I catch up with Hur Jin-ho's directorial debut "Christmas in august". The variety of themes and level of achievement speak highly of a national cinema ripe for discovery. This film's major themes are death and love. The graceful and thoughtful way Jung Won(Han Suk-kyu) copes with his impending death, and the sublimation of his desires toward Darim(Shim Eun-Ha) out of true love for her. I was deeply moved by his careful management of behavior and emotions, shielding Darim from unnecessary pain without rejecting her.

The success of this type of film is predicated on the skill of the actors. Han and Shim excel, being both quite expressive yet naturalistic. A number of secondary characters, Jung Won's relatives, friends, and clients, are quickly delineated to enrich the story without detracting from its main focus. To LIVE is to love, but all things must pass. Pain subsides. Life goes on.

SPOILER ALERT--AND I REALLY MEAN IT!! READ NO FURTHER UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO HAVE A MAJOR PLOT ELEMENT REVEALED!!

Okay, first I've gotta say that I have a relatively high tolerance for depressing films. I'll watch and appreciate films about true life horrors (such as war and the holocaust) or where death and sadness are important to the plot BUT I hate films like STEAL MAGNOLIAS and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT where the film is built around a manipulative death of a main character. So, already no matter how well made this film is, it's got a MAJOR strike against it because one of the main characters dies from a disease at the end (though they never say WHAT he had in the English subtitled version).

So you might ask yourself, "then if this blow-hard hates this type of film, then why did he watch it in the first place?" You would have an excellent point to ask this, though I hope I am not really a blow-hard! Well, when I found it in our local library I had no idea what it was about!!! The movie was not intended specifically for export, as the subtitles were in Korean, English and Japanese and the box was printed all in Korean. Well, being a fan of trying films from any nation (I've seen films from probably at least 30-40 different countries),I gave it a try.

Well, apart from the obligatory death, I loved the film and so hated the way it ended. While I usually hate Hollywood-type miraculous endings, I wanted to see the guy saved through some new drug or experimental surgery. I was really bummed that he had to die--particularly since he seemed like one of the nicest people I've seen in films in a long time. His smile was infectious and I really wanted him to get the girl in the end. Oh well, at least I can appreciate the film's message that you need to seize the moment. Great acting, music, etc., but just not the most satisfying ending for me. This film was good enough to encourage me to try some more Korean cinema.

Being a fan of Asian cinema I found "Christmas in August" by sheer luck as I was browsing through movies on Amazon. Having read through the synopsis of the movie, it really sounded like a movie that was well worth buying and watching.

And it was!

This Korean drama is a strong romance that really tells a very great story withing actually delving into the physical aspects of love. The unspoken attraction between Jung-won (played by Suk-kyo Han) and Da-rim (played by Eun-ha Shim) was really breathtaking and so romantic. There was not a single kiss, embrace or anything like it, but the scene where Da-rim took hold of Jung-won's arm as they walked on the street and he was telling the ghost story said it all; that scene was just so beautiful.

Jung-won is terminally ill with some sickness that we never learn what actually is, and he has come to terms with his condition and wants to continue his life as normal when Da-rim walks into his photo store one day and a friendship is forming; a friendship that blooms into a love that unfortunately goes unsettled.

"Christmas in August" was really beautifully acted and brought to the screen, because both Suk-kyo Han and Eun-ha Shim really played their characters so well, and the chemistry between them was just amazing. There isn't a lot of characters in the movie, so they were having to really carry the movie with excellent performances, which must be said, that they also really did.

This is a sad romantic story, but it is really beautiful still, despite it not ending out with everyone living happily ever after, which is a tendency to happen in romantic movies. "Christmas in August" is highly recommended that you spend an approximate 110 minutes on watching, because it is so worth it. And if you liked movies like "Failan", then you will definitely love "Christmas in August" as well.