I never heard of this before but randomly chose to see it from an ad-supported Asian film streaming site. Wow! This is such a wonderful film! Instantly my 2nd film film of 1998, and it’s only because The Thin Red Line is one of my favorite films ever that Christmas in August is not tops.

CiA is how a film should be made when handling the difficult matter of love and dying. It is understated with minimal diaologue but conveys everything it needs to effectively through images and situations. A western film would mangle this subject (Me Before You and some Winona Ryder film come to mind). Here, it is handled beautifully. It is heartbreaking without being ham-fisted or melodramatic like Hollywood movies. I understand this was a first film for the director, and it’s a great one!

Check it out if you can. Also check out Maborosi or Ikiru bu Akira Kurosawa.