Christmas in August (1998-South Korea)
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User Rating
Current user rating: 94/100 (8 votes)
Profile
- Movie: Christmas in August
- Hangul: 8월의 크리스마스
- Revised romanization: Palwolui Christmas
- Director: Hur Jin-Ho
- Writer: Hur Jin-Ho, Oh Seung-Wook, Shin Dong-Hwan
- Producer: Yun Sang-Ho
- Cinematographer Yu Yeong-Gil
- Release Date: January 24, 1998 (South Korea)
- Runtime: 97 min.
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Plot
Somewhere in Seoul, Jung-Won runs a small shabby photo studio. A humble shack passed down from his widower father, the studio is a space where Jung-Won goes about with his daily routine of dealing with fussy customers, enlarging photos of class heartthrobs for the neighbourhood kids and photographing pictures to place on funeral altars. For Jung-Won, life seems to be a series of peaceful events, but in reality his time on earth is too limited for comfort. Barely in his mid-30’s but perhaps too aware of the meaning of death, Jung-Won accepts his fate despite the subtle gestures of concern coming form his old father and younger sister. Life goes on as usual until one day he meets Darim who works at the Traffic Control Division of the local district office is a regular customer at the studio. Her daily visits to develop snapshots of parking violations and her somewhat bold attempts to capture his attention stirs a feeling inside Jung-Won with which he deals in anticipation. As his health gradually deteriorates, Jung-Won is faced with the painful duty of bidding farewell to family, friends, to the studio and to Darim……
Cast
- Han Suk-Kyu - Jung-won
- Shim Eun-Ha - Da-rim
- Shin Goo - Jung-won's father
- Oh Ji-Hye - Jung-sook
- Lee Han-Wi - Chul-goo
- Jeon Mi-Seon - Ji-won
- Hye-won Kwon - Hyo-jung
- Min Kyeong-Jin
- Kim Ki-Cheon
- Lee Yong-Nyeo
Awards & Nominations
- Official Selection, Semaine de la Critique, Cannes IFF 1998
- Special Mention FIPRESCI, Flanders IFF Ghent 1998 "for its quiet and subtly detailed way of telling the story of a man facing death and thus rejecting the love and life, proposed to him by a young woman."
- Special Mention, Dragon & Tiger Awards, Vancouver IFF 1998
- Special Mention FIPRESCI, Pusan IFF 1998 "for its unusually delicate and touching way of treating a love story about fate, love and death."
- Special Mention, IFF des Premières Oeuvres Québec Canada 1998;
- Winner Best Film, Best New director & Best Actress, Baeksang Arts Awards; Best New Director, Golden Camera Awards
- Public Prize, IFF Annonay France 1999
