During its first hour, “Burning” is doing so, albeit slow. Still, you should keep your eyes open and your ears alert, otherwise you might miss just a little detail crucial to somehow understand a few of the films many mysteries. In the beginning, the whole thing plays out as a “slice of life” narrative. Set in the city of Paju, South Korea, boy has a chance encounter with girl. They are childhood friends and girl asks boy out for drinks and “up catching”. Later, inebriated, they end up sharing bed. Soon thereafter girl leaves on a trip. Boy, introverted - aspire to be a novelist - has developed feelings for girl. Tension arises when girl comes back home with a new-found male friend. Enter stage: Steven Yeun (of Walking Dead fame) as, what must be, the antagonist. He’s the polar opposite of our “boy”: rich, outgoing and confident.
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“Burning” boasts three compelling characters. One clear strength of the film is director Chang-dong Lees ability to paint fascinating character portraits. I must say, though: Steven Yeun (I had no idea he spoke Korean!) is the stand-out in the cast. His character is an enigma, something is definitely, at least a little, off behind that almost frozen smile. When asked what he does for a living, he answers: “This and that. The distinction between playing and working is not clear anymore” We (as an audience) are supposed to notice him yawning while entertaining guests, because this scenario is played out twice. The protagonist, with a keen interest in literature, compares him to Jay Gatsby.
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Director Chang-dong Lees film is last years South Korean sensation to reach a wide western audience. It’s an excellent slow-boiling psychodrama that intriguingly tackles themes of class conflict and gender relations. Its explosive ending and many tightly woven mysteries stay with you, certainly great fodder for endless discussions, after the credit roll.
