by Jared Free
Lee Chang Dong, one of my favorite directors of all time, and certainly the one that has exerted the most influence over my artistic thinking, has released a new movie after eight years. And I don’t love it. I certainly don’t hate it, either though.
Burning features some of the most stunning use of framing that I have seen in recent years. The cinematographer, Hong Kyung Po, also known for his work on the recent horror-police procedural-ghost story-comedy the Wailing, has married his always surprising camera work to Lee Chang Dong’s reserved and literary sensibilities to stunning effect. When this is paired with lead actor Yoo Ah-In’s aching, elemental performance as Jong-Su, an unmoored aspiring novelist, the movie becomes transcendental, an exploration of how youth is both drawn to and alienated by society’s economic excess. When the camera turns to Jun Jong-seo, making her debut as Hae-mi, Jong-su’s love interest, she embodies disaffection more viscerally than many actors that have been working for years. And of course, Steven Yeun’s performance as the removed Ben is stunning as well, with every small detail, adding up to a whole picture that is equally mysterious and terrifying.
Despite all of this amazing work, the central story – taken from Murakami’s “Barn Burning,” itself a reference to a Faulker story – puts these three incredible characters and actors into sexist tropes that have been outdated for decades now. Hae-mi’s value to the film begin and ends with the interest of the two leading male characters, and given Lee’s work with lead female characters on Secret Sunshine and Poetry, I was hoping for something more forward thinking. As it is, Burning retreads tired ideas and clichés about women in art cinema, and that severely impacted my enjoyment of the film.
Even so, the movie’s challenging, quiet structure shows Lee’s confidence as a storyteller. He carefully pieces vignettes together that make for a devastating and haunting picture, and one that shouldn’t be missed by lovers of great acting or amazing camera work.
