Christmas In August

The DVD has an accompanying 50-minute Making Of documentary that explains more about what the director was trying to achieve and demonstrates his painstaking perfectionism in getting every scene exactly right.

Although the film is set in the suburbs of Seoul, it was shot in Kun San because they specifically required the atmosphere of a small town and the director wanted to create a Seventies look. However, it is not explained whether it is actually set in that decade, or in the present, or in a timeless contemporary era.

Most poignantly, they spent 24 hours filming one scene. This is when father and son are together, both knowing the truth of the illness, and the son is more upset that his father will be alone than about his own impending fate. The director is not happy with the dropping sound of the rain and it has to be adjusted by the art department. In addition, lead actor Han Suk-kyu is shown performing the same scene repeatedly, and it must inevitably have worn him out.

The voice-over commentator says, "The movie wants to show ordinary bits and pieces of our life. Through these bits and pieces the director wants to let the viewer have the same feeling as the hero, to touch their feeling."

The roller coaster ride was to be the couple's last meeting. This was quite a difficult task for the sound department and the cinematographers. Finally, Hur Jin-Ho explains, "Some directors use a movie to let the audience know what they want to project, but this is not what I want. I just want the viewers to watch this movie, then they know there is such a story. As long as they can feel something, it is okay."

It never emerges in the 50-minute documentary what Jung-won was dying of and why this was never explained in the film. The enigma surrounding the character and his death is preserved.

The nice (perhaps unnecessary) music video is a feelgood/sad episodic sequence from the film that underlines the platonic love between the protagonists.

Finally, there are trailers for other Tai Seng Entertainment UK DVD releases.