I remember breaking up with a girlfriend two weeks before my birthday and wondering if I was spending that particular birthday alone. When the birthday arrived, I received many digital well wishes from friends and acquaintances but one particular greeting from my past led to an invitation to her house. That invitation created an expectation that led me to ask, is she going to blow my birthday candle? What does that have to do with Lee Chang- Dong's film Burning? I had high expectations but unlike my birthday, Burning did not meet them.
Burning's biggest problem is that is has a hard time defining its genre. Is it crime, is it romance, is it existential?
Lee Jong-Su played by Ah-In Yoo takes care of his dad's farm because his dad is in jail for assaulting another man. One day Jong Su travels to the city and meets Haemi during a strange encounter in which Jong-Su's number is drawn randomly from a merchandiser's store where Haemi works as a promotional model. Haemi reveals that she knew Jong-Su when they were kids because they grew up in the same small town in South Korea. They begin a courtship but Haemi ends that courtship quickly when she asks Jong-Su to take care of her cat because she is going to Africa. She isn't there long because of civil strife and when she asks Jong-Su to pick her up at the airport, Jong-Su is greeted by her male friend: The charming Ben she met in Africa played by Steven Yeun.
Things get interesting fast because we expect Jong-Su to win Haemi back but Ben does his best to thwart Jong-Su. Every time Haemi invites Jong-Su out, Ben is always there. Ben is sauve and rich. He is only a few years older than the teenagers but he drives a Porsche.
Things get even more complicated when Haemi disappears. Jong-Su does everything in his power to find her but can't locate her. He thinks Ben has something to do with the disappearance so he tails Ben's every move. When he is not chasing Ben, Jong-Su tries to get his dad out of prison. A sub plot that doesn't complicate the main plot but just runs along it, adding nothing to the story.
Director Lee Chang Dong' s choices cause the film to be flat. He does very little to establish a point of view to help his audience distinguish the film's genre. We are confused and wondering whether we are watching a murder mystery or romance. The action plods slowly and that would be fine, but Dong' s script doesn't add suspense to keep us intrigued. His script is flat.
If this is indeed a story about a coy charming murderer then I recommend you watch Mud. At least we know that Matthew Mccounaghey is a murderer. We're not sure if Ben is although a couple subtle clues may point to that.
Burned is disappointing and your time would be better spent watching something else at TIFF.
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