Underplayed Gems

Burning (2018)

Burning poster
Original title
버닝
Directed by
Lee Chang-dong
Genre
drama film, thriller film
Country
South Korea, Japan
Runtime
2h 28m
Rated
NR
Rating
7.4 of 10 from 1,836 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A young deliveryman reconnects with a childhood friend and then meets her mysterious new boyfriend. He grows suspicious of the man and fears for his friend's safety.

tenseunsettlingslow-burnambiguousmelancholicatmosphericsuspensefulcerebral

What happens

Burning (Korean: 버닝) is a 2018 South Korean psychological thriller film co-written, produced, and directed by Lee Chang-dong. The film is based on the short story "Barn Burning" from The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami, with elements inspired by William Faulkner's story of the same name. It stars Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, and Jeon Jong-seo. The plot depicts a young deliveryman, Jong-su (Yoo), who runs into his childhood friend, Hae-mi (Jeon). They soon meet an enigmatic young man named Ben (Yeun), whom Jong-su becomes suspicious of, and he begins to believe Hae-mi is in danger. The first film by Lee after a hiatus of eight years, the film premiered on May 16, 2018, at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or; it ended up receiving the FIPRESCI International Critics' Prize at the festival. It was released the following day in South Korea and on October 26, 2018, in the United States. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its sense of unease, ambiguous narrative, and performances. It was selected as the South Korean entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards; although it was not nominated, it became the first Korean film to make it to the final nine-film shortlist. It received numerous other accolades, and was included on several critics' "top ten" lists for the year 2018, notably those of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Associated Press. It has been regarded by some critics as one of the best films of the 21st century, and it was voted as the best Korean film of all time on Korean Screen, from a poll of over 150 critics from 28 countries, displacing movies like Parasite (2019), Oldboy (2003) and The Housemaid (1960). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.