That summer, I was madly obsessed with Korean movies and watched a lot, especially romance and gangster movies. But this "August Photo Studio" gives me a different feeling. It's not as straightforward as "My Sassy Girl", "If Love Had Providence", and "Daisy", which can make people cry.
At first glance, "August Photo Studio" is like drinking water, light, (the relationship between Yongyuan and Delin is also elusive), but after watching it, there is something in my heart, and I can't say it. Now, I think I finally understand that the theme of "August Photo Studio" is not so much love as death, or rather when love meets death.
Death is a constant topic that everyone and every generation has to face. But God gave us enough time to face and accept death calmly, just like the grandmother who came to the photo studio to take a portrait in the film. And Yongyuan's misfortune lies in the fact that he has to face the cruel problem of death in the prime of life, and face the already doomed death. (Although the film uses an old routine in the Korean drama, terminal illness, it doesn't make people feel cliché at all) In fact, many details in the film can feel Yongyuan's reluctance to give up his life, such as lying beside his father on a thunderstorm night. Action, usually very optimistic, he revealed the pain in his heart after drinking. Despite all the reluctance, Yong Won still treats people with a smile most of the time.
It seems that God made a joke with Yongyuan, and let his true love appear when he reached the last stage of his life, letting him let go of his obsession with his first love, but depriving him of the right to love and the right to happiness. It is precisely because he knew that his life was running out, Yong Yuan did not dare to face his love for Delin, and he did not dare to take action against Delin's initiative. Lin caused more pain, so he could only pretend to be heartless, be heartless to himself, and be heartless to Delin.
The photo studio in the film is more like a metaphor. The photo is to freeze the best side of a person, which is essentially eternal. And letting a dying person open an eternal store, I don't know whether it is irony or sadness.
"I understand that the feeling of love will fade, just like the old photos, but you will always be in my heart, you will always be beautiful until the last moment of life, thank you, goodbye." When love encounters death, it is helpless but poignant.
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