Burning

A dance to the setting sun in Burning

Chang-dong Lee's Burning has all the hallmarks of a classic thriller, but suffers from a dry, academic tone. Ah-in Yoo portrays Jong, a young man who lives alone at a dilapidated ranch near the DMZ in South Korea. His father, we gradually learn during the course of the film, is a violent offender who is being held while awaiting trial for assault and other misdeeds. We meet Jong in transit as he is waylaid by a Trade Fair honey who scams a tacky watch with Jong's oblivious assistance. The female, named Hae-Mi, seems overly enamored with the almost catatonic Jong and forthwith they hit the sack. She says she is going on a trip to Africa and would like Jong to attend to her cat in the meantime. He fulfills his duties and eagerly goes to pick up Hae-Mi at the airport. Unexpectedly, a dashing stranger, Ben, is there with Hae-Mi.

Ben is a wealthy playboy, as aimless as Jong, but with a sophisticated patina. He lives in a Seoul luxury condo much like the ones that have arisen in Portland's Pearl and San Francisco's Mission District. It is the opposite of Jong's ramshackle, if bucolic dwelling. Jong is an obvious dupe and cannot help but get himself enmeshed in Ben's upscale coterie.  Eventually, Ben and Hae-Mi arrive at Jong's property and proceed to treat him to wine and food. They share a joint as the sun falls. Ben confesses that he is driven to burn greenhouses and warns Jong that he will soon burn one nearby. A whiff of Faulkner, specifically "Barn Burning", is in the air. Hae-Mi, prone to chemical abuse, strips off her top and dances in ecstasy with the setting sun. Jong, channeling his father's rage, berates her and calls her a whore. This is the last we see of Hae-Mi.

The film loses its dash of spontaneity with the loss of Hae-Mi, superbly played by Jeon Jong-seo in her film debut. Equally memorable are Mr. Yoo and Steven Yeun as Ben, but their characters are often little more than schematic doubles playing cat and mouse. Jong spends the second half of the film running from greenhouse to greenhouse before investigating Hae-Mi's disappearance. This leads him to an inevitable confrontation with Ben. However, due to the film's somewhat laborious construction, the climax lacks impact. Mr. Lee has shot a striking film with a marvelous cast, but the end product seems overdetermined.