Burning (2018)

They're *burning*

This has been sitting on my watchlist for so long, I'm glad I finally got around to it.

First, it's too long.

Second, I just want to mention my favourite shot; when they were all smoking weed and as they were passing the joint the camera focused and unfocused as they took their puff. I thought it was pretty cool.

I also found it interesting how they showed Jong-su kill Ben but they didn't show Ben kill Hae-mi. You're kind of left with seeing Jong-su as the bad guy instead of Ben but you think Ben is worse because of the trophies he kept as well as the frequency of his kills and the zero remorse... But it wasn't proven. On the other hand, you could also look at Jong-su as the hero because Ben was going to kill another girl and he didn't have the proof and who would believe him over a rich man with status. Either side of the spectrum. A lot of "but did he really?"

I really liked it. Steven Yeun hi ?

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It wasn't bad and boring just most have said about this movie. It was raw may be that's why they felt that way. It was a movie full of metaphors though I don't get everything at all. The movie left me with few questions about that damn cat - from the beginning till the end I was hoping for an answer but the movie ended and left me puzzled. May be he did not do it to Ben. May be its part of the story he was writing as was shown in the scene (YAI starts writing in Hae mi's room). A big imagination. Whatever it is, the movie felt short despite the 2hours+ movietime they have intended. Maybe its the reason why it was snubbed in the Oscars? lol just my thought.

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For deep thinkers OR those open to films with more than 1 EXACT interpretation (ambiguity)

I was VERY confused trying to figure out where the story was going for 1/2 of the movie but I oddly/weirdly enough kept my eyes on the screen the whole time & didn’t fast forward even when I was confused bc I didn’t want to miss any super deep crazy metaphor from the slow storyline.

It’s one of the movies where not much can happen vocally/physically but there’s symbolism in the simplest/quickest conversation between characters AND/OR cinematography. The solemn & storyline gave me the American movie “Lovely Bones” vibes. Though “Lovely Bones” you’ll actually cry a river of tears. It wasn’t perfect but it’s one I’d definitely recommend to anyone okay with exploring different genres & wanting to watch something with deep meaning. I love Yoo Ah In but I had to hide my eyes most time from the nudity HAHA he has a baby face & I was like “Oh no” even though he’s grown LOL.

This movie is not a waste of time you just have to be in the right mood when watching, have an open mind & be willing to question fact from fiction. It gives the chance for the audience to make a decision on what has happened. This could be used in a class tbh. If you’re used to this genre type the symbolism was easy to catch on to if you watch a lot of mystery cases/crimes & can connect what has happened to a similar storyline.

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I wish I could dissappear, like i never existed

"Burning" has been on my mind ever since I saw it a years ago—and I've been yearning for a film like this ever since, but honestly there's nothing like it. It's smart. It doesn't cry out for you to spot little things and expect praise. It's just so minimal yet liminal. Burning is a mostly slow and subtle film but when it hits it hits hard. It often follows the protagonist in his seemingly mundane daily routine and very little information is revealed about the few characters involved. It's amazing, almost like magic, how this film keeps the mystery of a story so close to us. It's hard to describe the feeling it gives off after i watch it. It's like seeing an optical illusion. The theme of seeing what is not there is what underlies the story of this film. We can get clues about this from the scene where Hae-mi mimes eating oranges in front of Jong-su who gapes at the beginning of the story. It's so realistic, Jong-su can feel the sweetness of the oranges Hae-mi is eating, but there aren't really any oranges there. This film confuses, grips us tightly, makes us miserable by our own bad thoughts, it's so good and entertaining in its own way. The events in this film are intended to be a mystery, open to the interpretation of each viewer, how each of us sees things. The uncertainty of what really happened is the film's main strength.

Burning is not like a traditional (Hollywood) thriller where clue after clue is dropped one after another, nor is it one where you are certain of what the end goal is. The extra-diegetic music is not used as a device to necessarily excite, but more as a way to help build tension and a mild anxiety. It is a quiet film filled with lonely characters. Because of that, I can’t recommend it to people who are looking for the traditional thriller because this film isn’t that – it offers more of a study on the characters, their surroundings

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Gente, que filme! Ele é incrível. O roteiro é original e a narrativa bem diferente, pra alguns a primeira parte do filme pode ser lenta mas ela é essencial pra entender os personagens, pra gente conhecer as personalidades deles e o contexto da própria vida deles, que mais tarde vai ser muito importante pro desenrolar da história.
Os atores são excepcionais, principalmente o Steven Yeun, que superou e muito as minhas expectativas.
E quanto ao suspense, ao longo do filme são deixadas pistas que levam à uma conclusão simples e que faz todo o sentido.
Super recomendo assistirem ele!

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