Burning (2018)

I love a good mystery and Burning is a good one. It slowly builds, slipping into our consciousness. The story of Jong-su making a connection and having it slowly pulled from him intersects with his obsessive behavior until the film's striking climax hits us but refuses to give us answers. It all makes for a truly fascinating tale which makes you reflect back on all you've seen.

Writer/director Lee Chang-dong lets his story play out quite simply at first, lulling us into a sense of complacency as he invests us in Jong-su's story, so we get more and more attached to him. We almost don't notice him becoming less and less rational. As the film's mystery unfolds, we see the usual markers of suspicion and familiar mysterious plot points. But what Burning does next is what makes it interesting. It doesn't resolve in the way we're used to. It asks us more questions, turns the tables on our expectations, gives us what we are not expecting.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a twist. The conclusion actually follows quite logically. It is just not how these sorts of stories usually go. And the more you think about it the more it makes sense, but without "solving" anything for us. This mystery isn't about finding out "what happened" or "why." It's about the journey and what it does to us.

Lee Chang-dong does a lovely job of filming his story, finding gorgeous ways to film Paju and teh surrounding countryside. Burning is enticing to watch as well as luring us in with its story. I especially enjoyed watching Steven Yeun play mental games with Jong-su and us... or was he?

It's all just so delicious.

But it also makes us think about how we value each other. Are there those among us who are disposable? If so how do we accept that and how does it get to that point? Also, the film subverts the traditional "missing woman" trope to advance a male's story. Here Hae-mi is fully realized but never quite accessible. She has agency in a way most films like this don't allow. Burning made me think about other questions as well as just "what's going on?" And that made it even stronger for me.

I want to reflect on it and come back to it, watching again for all that it made me think about.

Burning
Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jeon Jong-seo
Director: Lee Chang-dong
Writers: Oh Jung-mi, Lee Chang-dong