Burning (2018)

Director: Lee Chang-dong
Stars: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo
Runtime: 148 minutes

Synopsis: Jong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.

Verdict: From the fiery mind of renowned filmmaker Lee Chang-dong comes “Burning”, my personal favorite movie of 2018 and one that is best known for being the first South Korean submission to make the Oscars’ shortlist for Best International picture, paving the way for a “Parasite” raffle the following year. Clocking at two and a half hours and running at a snail’s pace, the film will test the patience of many of its audience, rewarding only those brave enough to look past its gorgeous-looking surface.

The plot jumps between genre as it follows an awkward Jong-su rekindle with Hae-mi, a free-spirited young woman and childhood friend of his. The bond between the couple takes a new step when they share an intimate moment in her modest apartment before going on a trip to Africa to satisfy her Big Hunger, a term she uses to describe an appetite for answers about questions that are larger than life itself. However, his hopes are crushed when she flies back with Ben, a rich, mysterious, Gatsby-like figure who kept her company while they were stranded in Nairobi for three days. A sort of love triangle develops between the protagonists before taking a much darker turn in its final act.

One thing “Burning” absolutely nails is the care put into the characters and the relationship they share. They’re the very soul of the story, and their nuanced yet consistent characteristics are fascinating to follow throughout the rich narrative. Yoo Ah-in is spectacular as the shy but determined Jong-su, Jun Jong-seo’s buoyant energy is infectious, injecting the film with much-needed life, and Steven Yeun gives a career-defining performance as the charismatic Ben. They all work wonderfully individually but also shine together as jealousy starts to settle within the trio. Hong Kyung-pyo’s cinematography and Mowg’s score are the cherry on top of the cake, playing a big part in conveying the proper emotions to the audience.

(The next paragraph will contain spoilers, so I advise you to look away if you haven’t seen the movie.)

Following Ben and Jong-su’s talk at the latter’s childhood house, the former admits that he has an odd hobby: burning down abandoned greenhouses every other month. He confesses to Jong-su that he will strike again very soon, promising that his next victim would be a greenhouse close to his location. Soon after, the unpredictable Hae-mi disappears without a trace, leading us to draw two potential outcomes: either an argument with Jong-su angered her to the point of leaving her place to get away from a relationship that is getting more toxic, or she was murdered by Ben who had been showing signs of psychotic behavior going from admitting to never feeling emotional to hiding female jewelry in his bathroom. We never get a definitive answer as to what drove Hae-mi's mysterious disappearance, but the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that it was never Lee Chang-dong’s intention to provide us with one. Hell, it’s not even what the final act’s about. Even though it’s fun to look at the clues of the investigation while speculating whether Ben was indeed covering his traces in plain sight or not, the director is more interested in dissecting Jong-su’s behavior as he succumbs to the implementation of the second hypothesis in his mind without ever challenging it. “It's not a question of making yourself believe there is an orange there, you have to forget there isn't one” explained Hae-mi to her ex-classmate earlier in the film as she was showcasing an impressively smooth pantomime performance, but that lesson went right over Jong-su’s head as he stubbornly doubled-down on his suspicions without proper evidence, leading him to commit the unimaginable in a haunting closing scene that sees him driving away naked from a Porsche in flames.

“Burning” is a mesmerizing watch from start to finish and one that only gets better the more I think about it. Lee Chang-dong truly crafted an underappreciated modern masterpiece that I hope more people give a chance to in the future despite its intimidating nature.

FINAL GRADE: 9/10