A Korean Psychological Drama Movie 'Burning'

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In Korea, there are many great film directors besides Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho. One of them is director Lee Chang-dong, and this time I’d like to introduce one of his films. 


1. The Plot 


Jongsu, an aspiring writer, works as a delivery driver and by chance meets Haemi, a childhood classmate from his hometown. Haemi leaves for Africa, entrusting Jongsu with taking care of his cat before departing. And on the day he returns, Jongsu meets a man named Ben, who has come back with Haemi. They continue a mysterious meeting, and one day when Haemi goes missing, Jongsu begins to suspect Ben and starts following him around. 


2.  The Cast and Director

Yoo Ah-in, famous for the film Veteran, played Jong-su; Jeon Jong-seo, then a newcomer, played Haemi; and Steve Yeun, known for The Walking Dead and Angry Birds, gave a powerful performance as Ben.  Director Lee Chang-dong has a record of winning awards at the Venice Film Festival for the film Oasis. 


3. What to watch for 

This work is a staged adaptation that takes its motif from the famous Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s work “Barn Burning,” altering the characters’ professions, personalities, and the story. It might be nice to watch the movie and then read the novel to feel the difference. Also, Jeon Jong-seo’s acting is so excellent that it would be great to watch her acting showdown with actor Yoo Ah-in, as you wouldn’t believe she’s a newcomer.  Also, Ben’s mysterious performance by the now-famous Korean-American Steve Yeon is another highlight.  The film doesn’t reveal the ending and instead leaves that role to the audience, so it might be worthwhile to think about how Haemi could have gone missing. 


4. Personal Review 


Personally, this is a movie I’ve watched about four times again in Burning. I can’t say the film itself is extremely entertaining, but I like the unsettling yet strange atmosphere it creates, so I end up watching it again. The Haemi I had in mind seemed very free-spirited and bright, yet somehow dark and mysterious, like an enigmatic character. In particular, the scenes where she introduces Ben even after being intimate with Jongsu, and where she keeps contacting Jongsu while having an inexplicable fling with Ben, were personally upsetting to me.  Jongsu seems like a character that does a good job of portraying an utterly insignificant young man of this era, so I felt a sense of kinship with him, but also found it sad that he fell in love with Haemi, whom he had only met briefly, in such a short time and then went searching for her. Ben is portrayed as a mysterious chaebol family man, and it was somewhat shocking to see that, just like Haemi, he is dating her, and then Jong-su is looking for Haemi while he is dating her in the same way as other women. I believe that he killed Haemi, and I think the final scene was actually a good ending.  I recommend the film Burning, which allows you to reflect on youth unemployment and class conflict together.


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