The autumn of life

“Jeong-won, why do you smile whenever you see me?”

This line from Director Heo Jin-ho’s film Christmas in August is spoken by Da-rim, a parking attendant, to Jeong-won, the owner of Chowon Photo Studio. Da-rim frequently visits the studio to develop photos of the vehicles she patrols and gradually develops feelings for Jeong-won. Unbeknownst to her, Jeong-won feels the same. He smiles instinctively, without understanding why. Though his life has been largely devoid of emotion, Da-rim brings a rare joy into his otherwise expressionless existence. Yet, that joy is tinged with pain, for Jeong-won is terminally ill.

Before meeting Da-rim, Jeong-won had resigned himself to the life of a dying man, feeling as if he were abandoned in an empty playground, devoid of companionship or hope. He understood that his days were numbered and that his loved ones—his mother, father, and finally, himself—would eventually disappear. But Da-rim’s unexpected presence stirs something within him, disrupting his quiet acceptance of fate. As his feelings for her deepen, Jeong-won finds it harder to endure his condition in silence. He confides drunkenly to a friend that he doesn’t have much time left and, in a rare outburst, lashes out at a police officer who orders him to be quiet. The weight of his mortality, once a passive burden, now feels like torture.

In a sense, we are all terminally ill, as life inevitably leads toward death. Disappearance is a natural part of existence. However, it becomes a source of anguish because it forces us to part with those we love. In the end, Jeong-won makes peace with this reality, feeling gratitude for Da-rim, who allowed him to face his fate with love in his heart. Life, he realizes, is beautiful precisely because it is fleeting. Though he had little to smile about, Da-rim gave him a reason to laugh. Like autumn leaves, which are destined to fall, Jeong-won’s fleeting moments with Da-rim capture the bittersweet beauty of life. As we stand on the edge of autumn, a time when a poignant, melancholic film feels especially resonant, the heat of a lingering summer slowly fades, which was burning brightly even as September draws to a close.