Palwolui Christmas (199 Christmas in August

Directed by Jin-ho Hur

Starring Suk-kyu Han, Eun-ha Shim

Whereas Ikiru deals with every stage of grief having been told your dying, Christmas in August bypasses the first stages and is already on terms with the final stage, acceptance.

Jung-won runs a small photo shop/studio and is terminally ill, we never find out what hes dying of but that doesnt really matter. Hes obviously been ill for a long time, long enough to have accepted the knowledge that he will soon be gone. He spends his days quietly running the photo shop; drinking with friends and sharing time with his immediate family, his father in particular.

Dar-im is a traffic warden (meter maid) who starts using Jung-wons studio to get pictures of traffic violations developed, within a short time you can feel a mutual attraction developing.

The film is not a romance, nor a lamentation on death, there is little if any sorrow or misery. It is a film about a man preparing, ensuring that life carries on after hes gone, making the most of the time left to be with the people he cares about and sharing what he knows can only be a brief friendship with Dar-im.

Moving and deliberately underplayed acting, some clever cinematographic flourishes and no melodramatics, all in all a quiet but powerful film that may just bring a tear to your eye.

A definite recommendation.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated 12