Burning
(Lee Chang-dong, 2018, 148 min, South Korea, in Korean w/ English subtitles & English, Color, DCP)
Based on Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning,” the sixth feature from Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong is at once a riveting examination of class resentment and a masterful, slow-burning thriller. When an aspiring writer (Yoo Ah-in) becomes involved with a woman he knew from childhood (Jun Jong-seo) he agrees to apartment sit for her; but when she returns from Africa with a Gatsby-esque partner (Steven Yeun), his confusions and obsessions begin to mount, culminating in a stunning finale.
Winner: FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2018
“You won’t be able to get it out of your head.” Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“This is a beautifully crafted film loaded with glancing insights and observations into an understated triangular relationship, one rife with subtle perceptions about class privilege, reverberating family legacies, creative confidence, self-invention, sexual jealousy, justice and revenge.” – Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
