Lee Chang Dong’s Burning
Written by Joe D on February 4th, 2019
This is a great film, the story is simple, almost a genre detective structure but the nuances of character, class, Korean life, and memory weave a complex web that is fascinating and will stay with you for a long time after the film ends. You probably will want to watch it again and catch all the clues, I love films that don’t explain everything,that don’t spell everything out for the audience. Because mystery is a wonderful element in any artistic creation and the filmmaker that explains everything disrespects the intelligence of the audience. The characters are wonderfully drawn out, especially our three main ones, Jong-seo Jun plays Shin Hai-me, a young girls so full of curiosity about life, so charming, she’s like your first love, the cool girl you met in college.
Ah-in yoo plays Lee jong-su, our hero, a would be writer, a kind of normal everyman with a deep soul, smarter than he seems at first glance, a young man pushed to the brink.
Steven Yeun is Ben, a rich sociopath, everything in life is a game to him.
I don’t want to say too much about this terrific film, just watch it for yourself. I guarantee it will affect you and make you think. This is Cinema.