The original text is [ScreenAnarchy] "Burning" film review
June 2018 released on the public account - voiceover
Translation/Potrokep
It has been eight years since the last extraordinary film "Poem", and the long-awaited Li Changdong brought his sixth film, "Burning", adapted from Haruki Murakami's short story "Burning the Barn", to the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival unit. The film is a symbolic journey, with palpable tension building up as the mystery that consumes the protagonist develops as it explores the unspeakable. Yoo Ah-in and Steven Won delivered some of the best performances of their careers, while rookie actor Jeon Jong-seo was as amazing as the girl sandwiched between them in the movie.
Jong-soo (Yoo Ah-in) is stuck with her day job, but dreams of writing her first novel. He moves back to his family farmhouse in Paju, and after his father gets into legal trouble, he stumbles upon Hae Mi (Jon Jong Seo), a girl he once knew who lives in the same block. Jong-soo is infatuated with the capricious and mysterious Hae-mi, who asks him to look after her cat while she travels to North Africa. She then returns with Ben (Steven Won), a wealthy Seoul native, but the source of his wealth is also a mystery . It wasn't long before Ben decided to share his secret hobby with Jong-soo.
Lee Chang-dong remains true to the essence of the original book, but at the same time, he also adds something to make the fire burn even more intensely in the 150-minute slow burn, which explores a more complex set of themes, some of which are related to the film's setting The Korean background has a unique connection. Social class remains the focus of the story, but its role is even stronger here, with a stark contrast between urban and rural spaces. The film also hints at how contemptible the wealthy in Korean society are to the lives of others. Around Ben's friends, Hae-mi is more of a plaything than a companion because she's their nightly entertainment.
Then there's Jong-soo's house, with the South Korean flag fluttering in the wind, near the North Korean border, where loudspeakers eat the air with propaganda broadcasts. Negative views of China are also slightly reflected in the script, which also seems to question its hypocrisy around national identity.
There are very few characters in the film and very little narrative at the beginning of the film, so maybe some people will feel that the pace of "Burning" is slow at the beginning, especially because its core needs to be excavated. However, for those who are immersed in the film, the impact of the film is multi-faceted. The cautious pace of the first half of the film winds up towards the stunning ending when Hae-mi and Ben suddenly appear at Jong-soo's farmhouse.
While admiring the sunset, the three of them drink, chat, and giggle, until Hae-mi performs an emotional dance, and she falls into the void left by the dance that can only be filled with the deepest secrets, and at that time, Ben And Zhongxiu began to exchange each other's secrets. The orange glow of the setting sun turned to a blue-green night sky, and Hae-mi and Ben left in Ben's Porsche, the crimson lights at the rear drowning Zhong-soo's face.
This extraordinary result is the sum of the outstanding performances of the three actors and the masterful adaptation of director Lee Chang-dong, and equally notable is the full use of color and fantastic handheld photography by director of photography Hong Kyung-pyo. His work in Bong Joon-ho's films "Mother" and "Snowpiercer" and Luo Hongzhen's "The Cry" is already legendary, but Hong Qingbiao's contribution to Lee Changdong's ingenious work is incalculable of.
A year after attending Cannes for Bong Joon-ho's film "Okja," "The Walking Dead" "graduate" Steven Yeon plays the arrogant Ben who happily plays with the people around him. As a Korean-American--though his role isn't--he displayed a perhaps very impressive otherness to the local Cannes audience (in part because he spoke near-perfect Korean throughout) ). While fundamentally failing to notice it doesn't in any way diminish the impact Steven Yeon delivers through his brash grin, relaxed swagger and the character's self-assured balance.
Even more impressive is Yoo Ah-in, who is familiar to Western audiences for his role as the villain in Yoo Seung-wan's film "The Veteran," playing a despicable rich second generation. And this time, there is no better but better, Yoo Ah-in showed a sense of confusion in his performance, and this confusion eventually turned into fear, so that we can't make any simple and easy judgments about his character. Jong Soo's intentions seem unclear throughout the story, but with allusions to emasculation and his cowardly body, Yoo Ah In's character has a compelling impetus in the film.
Chosen from the audition, the newcomer, Chung Shui, has completed a performance that is almost unimaginable for newcomers. Her character is trapped between dream and reality, between the desire for freedom and social identity, and is trapped in the huge body around her. between desires and the self itself. Whenever she's on screen, she's magnetic, playful and miserable, craving something she may never understand.
Li Changdong, a master who has constantly surpassed himself over the past 20 years, has combined these elements ingeniously and with tension. "Burning" is a unique suspense film that is not similar to other similar films that will be seen this year. There is bound to be an abundance of savouring this splendid and intricately gloomy burning tale over and over again.
Pierce Conran
Famous film critic and producer. He is a reporter for KoBiz, the official English website of the Korean Film Promotion Council, a Korean correspondent for Twitchfilm, a consultant for the Swiss Freiburg Film Festival, and the founder of the Korean film review website Modern Korean Cinema (MKC). He also founded the film company Mr2 Films with independent film director Lee Sang-woo, and the first film "Dear Leader" in which he participated as a producer premiered at the Jeonju International Film Festival.
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