Hur Jin-ho’s debut feature film is essential Korean romance—quite possibly the essential Korean romance as a touching narrative of subtlety, minimalism and unrequited love. The classic pic tells the simple story of Jung-won, an owner of a small-town photography store, who meets a local traffic cop and slowly begins to develop a relationship with her. However, he also discovers that he has a terminal illness and must cope with his impending death, while determining how he wants to spend his remaining days.
Christmas in August tells its story with a slow, endearingly low-key script, devoid of sentimentality and grand expressions of love. The film concerns itself with the little things; be it how its characters barely express themselves, save for the slightest facial expressions and pauses, or by the manner in which Jung-won acknowledges his mortality. His choice to simply spend time with his family and continue his daily life may sound typical or cliché, but star Han Suk-kyu performs with an authenticity and innocence that will thaw your ice-cold heart.
But more important than the meditations on life are the meditations on the romance as Hur seemingly gives the relationship more by doing less. He puts his characters in difficult, yet accessible situations and captures real-life moments with a static camera and unpretentious style. There are no forced plot turns in the name of dramatics. Jung-won suffers through impossible choices, while the cop, Darim, with her delightfully stubborn personality, lives her life unaware of Jung-won’s condition. Shim Eun-ha plays her well with a spunky charm.
Altogether, the film is an honest and poignant work, uncompromising and open to analysis. Is it a warm and sweet film, or a tragedy? Is Jung-won to be praised or denounced for his choices? There’s a certain similarity to Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love in story and plotting, as unrequited love is achingly tested to its limits in both. However, while Wong illustrates this by setting his vibrant costumes and colorful mise-en-scene against the tightly constrained sets and claustrophobic cinematography, Hur approaches with naturalistic settings and a disregard for any flourishes of style, as if to tell us that this is all very real.
Reviewed by Tarun
