laugh, die

Marcus 2022-04-23 07:04:39

The first time I saw this movie was in 2000. It came from a pirated CD. Of course, the sound and picture quality were rough at that time. For this art-oriented movie, it was a huge disaster, and the look and feel was extremely poor. In addition, the youth is full of vigor and cannot understand the world. The only impression left is that Han Shigui is smiling all the time. When he looks at it, he thinks it is a fake smile, and he slowly dislikes it. Now it seems that I am a teenager who is ignorant of the world and doesn't understand life.

Also, I don't like the subconsciousness of taking pictures, which is also a sequelae of watching this film. But after work, taking pictures became part of my responsibilities, and I became a photography pseudo-expert in my unit, which was also helpless.

After watching this film nearly twenty years later, I had an unprecedented experience. The nostalgic and rough picture quality I saw in the high-definition film source, as well as the daily life of 20 years ago, combined with the unique restraint and forbearance in the film, actually resonated with looking back on the first half of my life. The plain and bland daily life ahead, under the excellent photography scheduling, has a desire for tranquility and happiness. When listening to the story, Shen Yinhe naturally took Han Shigui's arm and the violin sounded. Although I know this scene is only short-lived, it is still enviable.

The biggest reason I give 5 stars instead of 4 is the handling of death.

Terminal illness is a bloody plot that will appear in many movies. In this movie, it still appears. However, I really like the treatment of terminal illness, it can inspire and resonate with me. What should a person do when they know exactly when they will die? Desires, desires, do they want to be fulfilled at all costs? Check out what Han Seok-gyu did. He gathers with friends, tries hard to teach his father to be self-reliant, runs a photo studio, and can't help but have a late love, everything is as usual, extremely plain. But in these daily lives, I saw a living person's disregard for death. He was also afraid and tried to live, but finally arranged everything and died calmly. He loves a girl, but he can only restrain his desire and caress through the glass, instead of selfishly fulfilling that "little wish". He smiled all his life, but when he took a photo of himself, he suddenly stopped smiling, as if he was looking back on his life, and then showed a gratified smile without regret. This smile, I see, is really beautiful.

laugh

Perhaps, being able to predict his own death and face it indifferently is also a kind of happiness.

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Extended Reading
  • Scarlett 2022-02-27 08:01:33

    That old lady was very emotional when she went to take pictures again.

  • Misty 2022-03-20 09:02:56

    I've only watched it now... It's about how a person faces his own death... It's almost the best terminally ill romance movie... The scene of the girl smashing the glass is so sad.

Christmas in August quotes

  • Jung-won: [Sitting on a rubber tire in his old school playground] When I was a kid I always sat alone in the playground after the other boys had gone. Thinking about my late mother, it struck me that we'd all disappear in the end... my father, my sister, all my best friends.

  • [last lines]

    Jung-won: [narrating] I always knew that feelings of love would fade - just like old photographs. But for you... you will always remain in my heart, as you are in my last moment. Thank you, and goodbye.