Fantastic Fest Review: Burning

South Korea has perfected the revenge thriller, so it was only a matter of time before great auteur Lee Chang-dong stepped up to the plate to join the likes of Park Chan-wook and Kim Jee-woon.

Bringing in Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, with Burning Lee molded a psychological masterpiece that will leave you full of doubt, dread, and searing questions about morality.

When Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in) rekindles his childhood friendship with his old neighbor Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), he didn’t expect it to go south so rapidly. The glittering magic spark between them immediately halts when Hae-mi returns from a trip to Africa with Ben (Yeun), a mysteriously rich boy who drives a flashy Porsche and makes pasta in his meticulously designed apartment. He’s an enigma – the Jay Gatsby to Jong-su’s Nick Carraway.

Hae-mi’s placement with these boys is just as perplexing. A kind and observing soul, she is passionate about African tribal dancing, cries at sunsets, and can fall asleep at any restaurant. She’s in between two men who don’t deserve her effervescent light, but her lonely heart pulls her toward these boys who take advantage (both willingly and unknowingly) of her pain.

Then she disappears: disconnecting her phone, changing the code to her apartment, and taking her elusive cat Boil with her. This crushes Hae-mi, who (misguided intentions aside) just hopes she is alive. However, she leaves a disjointed trail of breadcrumbs behind her, riddling Burning with ambiguity, creating a complex and utterly engaging work of art.

Burning

This article appears in September 21 • 2018.