Special Program in Focus: Decisive Moments in Asian Cinema, 2018
Burning
버닝
Director LEE Chang-dong
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LGBTQ+Travel/Road Movie
Based on Murakami Haruki’s short story, Barn Burning, Burning is about the enigmatic relationship between three people. Jongsu meets childhood friend Haemi, who seems to be lively but somewhat hollow, and falls for her. But Haemi asks him to take care of her cat while she takes off for Africa. When she returns, she is with the young and rich but mysterious Ben. The tight tension among the three classifies this film as a mystery thriller, but it is still an extension of Lee Chang-dong’s world. Rather than directly burrowing into the inner life of the guilty, the camera sensitively captures the butterfly effect of everything surrounding guilt. The storyline is minimal, but filled with unbelievably dense scenes full of symbolic elements making up a tight-knit net of metaphors. The harmony of music and sound is exceptional. The film is rare and valuable attempt by the director to disband this era’s mood of loss, anger and chaos in filmic form and project it into an image.
Lee Chang-dong expanded his career from novelist to film director by making his debut with Green Fish (1997). Most of his works have been invited to major international film festivals. He won the Best Director award at the Venice Film Festival for Oasis (2002), the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for Secret Sunshine (2007), the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival for Poetry (2010), and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Burning (2019). Possible Love won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2026 Venice Film Festival. He is one of South Korea′s leading master directors who has built international renown through his profound cinematic world.
From Busan International Film Festival 2025, No. 30
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