Telling the story of a teenage girl who lives with her mom we follow the life of Mina who has only a couple of months left to live in because of a disease. Her mom is trying her best to encourage Mina to live life to the fullest and enjoy herself and be happy. One day a guy moves in downstairs and Mina is about to experience love for the first time.

The story seems so deceptively simple but still its like this movie is pure magic and that everything just seems perfect: the mood, the setting and the characters and also featuring a gorgeous soundtrack to accompany the movie.

Since this is a romantic movie there are of course ups and downs and heartfelt laughter and warmth and also VERY emotional scenes. while watching the events unfold the viewer knows deep down inside that it is in the end a tragic movie. I have rarely (if ever) shed my tears to a movie but everything in this movie comes across as being perfectly natural and none of the emotional scenes look forced or fake (lord of the rings as an example). The relationship between the mother and daughter looks truly genuine and the love teenagers experience also looks genuine (by korean standards anyways) and shows just how deep the characters really are.

after watching i could not hold back my tears... when my eyes had dried up i reviewed some of the scenes...and the tears all came back! this is the first movie that has ever done that to me and I'm afraid if i watch it again i wont be able to hold back.

truly a korean masterpiece. watch it!

9/10

I sat down tonight, in order to watch Christmas in August. It's at the top of some peoples Korean film list, and is supposed to be, quite simply brilliant. But instead, another film on the pile (yes, the infamous pile of everlasting movies is still with me) caught my attention, and I decided to watch just the first 5mins.

5 mins turned into the first 10.

10mins turned into the first half.

The first half turned into the whole movie.

A simple storyline, but as they so often are, so wonderfully told. A girl with a terminal disease falls for the boy who lives downstairs from her. Nothing more, nothing less. But the acting ability, and the brilliant writing keep this movie moving along with joy, even tho deep deep down, you know its going to end in tragedy.

The cinematography, is beautiful. Some of the scenes are so lovingly shot, and the subtlety as to which the girl's (Mina) disease is dealt with far surpasses virtually any documentary about someone in ill health. The characters writing for each part is done so well, and even tho there's literally only a handful of people in the film (which is great for newbies to asian cinema!) each one is crafted so well, especially the male and female lead.

Its a funny film, with plenty of laugh out loud moments, as it always is with asian movies. Maybe I'm one of only a few, but the humour in some of the smallest jokes sometimes makes the experience for me, and luckily these translate really well (an example, in one of the scenes the word "sacks" is misheard for "sex" causing embarrassment) and overall the subtitles are pretty well done with few, if any, errors.

I tend to watch as many films as I possibly can, and so far this year I've not really been enticed by anything "new" to watch, and have settled for rewatching some favorites, and older films I've missed out on. Therefore, "...ing" has risen very quickly to the top of the pile of movies i've enjoyed so far this year. If in theory you're attracted to a romantic comedy but the western efforts seem so tacky and lifeless, then this might be the film for you. A great film for anyone who wants to try asian cinema without getting into something either too complex or badly translated, a great film for those already submersed into the world, a great film for those who enjoy rom-com's with "that little bit extra"... a great film.

The sad thing is, it's been out (in cinema, and from a few days ago, on dvd) for several months, and I was the 8th person on iMDB to give it a mark. If you're sick of films like National Security or Haunted Mansion even GETTING marks in the first place, then its time to ignore Western commercial cinema, and give something else a try. You can start here.

9/10

Korea has a long tradition in the romantic melodrama, and the concept of a young woman with a serious illness has been done countless times. However, rarely has this topic been covered as delicately and emotionally as it is in "...ing".

The cast is superb all around. Su-jeong Lim and Rae-won Kim have great chemistry as Min-a and Yeong Jae, but the show stopper is Mi-suk Lee as the mother. Her quiet desperation and struggle for her daughter to enjoy "quality of life" rather than "quantity of life" is just heart breaking.

The director, Eon-hie Lee, does an excellent job of engaging the audience with what is a very simple love story, but then as the third act gets going you slowly realise that there is much more going on than you first thought. This is not to say there are any real shocks or surprises, but this film takes the viewer to new emotional depths very subtly and unexpectedly.

Well worth seeing if you are in a quiet and contemplative mood, or if you need to exercises your heart-stings or tear-ducts.