| Christmas In August | The Contact |
IMDB Score | 7.8 | 7.5 |
Director | Jin-ho Hur | Yoon-Hyun Chang |
Country of Origin | South Korea | South Korea |
Genre | Drama/Romance | Drama/Romance |
Awards | 4 wins 2 noms | 3 wins |
Lead Actors | Suk-kyu Han & Eun-ha Shim | Suk-kyu Han & Do-yeon Jeon |
Christmas in August is a movie worth watching. It tells the story of a 30 something man who works at a photo store (you know, the places you went to in the 90's to get pictures developed and portraits taken?) The movie doesn't go out of it's way to build him up as the nicest of nice guys, but instead depicts him as a rather ordinary, personable fellow. Early on in the film you see the man (Jung-Won) take some pills, but nothing said of it. As the film progresses you pick up tidbits that don't give you much specific detail, but you come to suspect that Jung Won's ailment is more severe than he is letting on. Around 2/3 of the way through the movie you see Jung Won do some things that leave no question as to what's coming. The movie isn't entirely about discovering what is wrong with Jung Won, in fact that's handled with just a few short scenes. No, the meat of the movie is about how he spends these final days, weeks, and months. It's a rather common premise now that I think about it. Heck, one of my earlier match ups used the same situation as a base. But this isn't you average
last days of glory kind of film. Jung Won proceeds rather resignedly. He doesn't rush out and travel the world, and he doesn't spend all his money. He restrains himself when it comes to his love life, and he continues to work at the photo shop. Perhaps these are more realistic actions under the circumstances. In anycase, it is what it is. He chooses a quiet withdrawl from the world. It's a compassionate movie, with a rather melancholy tone.
I understand what the movie was going for, and it does get there, but I did find it lacking in one way. I had an inkling pretty early on that Jung Won was terminally ill but the movie takes over half the running time to confirm it, and in the meanwhile I just took that suspicion and shelved it. This wouldn't be a problem necessarily if it wasn't for the first large portion of the movie being rather too slow. If I'd been watching the first 60 minutes with the knowledge I had in the last 30, I feel it would've added some much needed weight to the goings-on. I suppose it makes an excellent candidate for a rewatch! And in fact, that is what I've done. I watched it again while I was sitting here thinking what to write. And sure enough it was a fair bit better the second time through. The thumb-twiddling scenes from before now had more importance. So who knows, maybe the way I watch movies really had a negative effect on this one. Tastes are tastes. It's just my opinion that the sequence of events should've been arranged differently, to give a stronger sense of purpose to the entire movie.
Ultimately I think the movie was good. I feel like I've considered it thoroughly, and understand it. It's interesting if not all that engaging. Neither of the main characters were overly charming, Jong Won or his love interest. Their relationship was rather peculiar; because of John Won's choices it is never allowed to fully blossom. And in some ways that's true of the whole movie. I felt John Won's lack of
fight, while totally understandable, doesn't give us the kind of hope that would better carry this movie (even if it is destined to end in sadness). The whole movie is subdued. Like I said, it's interesting, but you don't get a whole lot to rally around.
That's about all the noteworthy aspects I can remember. It's a 3/5 as far as my own overall enjoyment goes, but a 4 or 4.5/5 when it comes to achieving what it set out to do. I think depending on your tastes, you may really love this movie. A lot! I look forward to hearing others thoughts on this one.
It will be moving on to round 2. --------------------------------
I've seen
The Contact described as a not-so-lighthearted You've Got Mail. I haven't seen YGM in full, but I understand the general plot and can say it's a fair comparison. You've got two people, troubled in their own love lives, and they happen to strike up a friendship via email. To be honest, I was a little confused as to how exactly all this comes about in The Contact. Maybe it was the subtitles which seemed rather crudely translated. Or maybe I was just getting names confused. I had to rewind a bit but eventually I sorted it out. In any case, they find themselves online together about 20 minutes into the movie. There's a bit of deceit at first, then apologies, then advice. Amongst the brief email scenes, the film continues to focus on the independent lives of the two major parties, mainly their love lives. It comes to pass that both of their pursuits don't pan out. They console each other, and eventually decide to meet for the first time. But of course, in true movie style, a misfortune strikes just then that threatens the meeting from ever taking place.
This movie sticks to the playbook for the most part. It's even got a musical montage complete with lead characters casting longing looks from their apartment windows.... no rain though.
Fortunately this film throws in a few ingredients of it's own into formula. Most memorable was the supercool soundtrack. It's more than just a soundtrack actually. One of the songs has importance within the plot. There's a few other unique quirks added in to break things up a bit. This movie isn't a romantic comedy. Acutally it wasn't even all that romantic. It's just a low-key relationship drama.
On the whole I thought it was somewhere between okay and good. Maybe a 2.5 or 3/5 on the enjoyment scale. The beautiful lead actress gives a performance worth mentioning. Suk-kyu Han wasn't asked to do much. He was almost perpetually calm. I just didn't buy his character. Nevertheless, I guess I could recommend it. If nothing else, it's got good music, a good ending, and it's not too long.