So guys I have discovered a favourite director in K films and I am now on a QUEST!
Lee Chang-Dong was a writer of novels until his 40's when he began directing and sometimes writing films. I have now seen three and they are all unique but share a theme of gradually intensifying and revealing that which is hidden to the protagonists (and viewer) initially.
The first I saw was
Poetry which I have already reviewed in this thread.
Next up:
Burning 2018.This film got a lot of attention, nominations etc.. in the english language world.
Our central character Jong-Su is an awkward, dispirited and downtrodden young man. He's come back to his father's run down farm in Paju, a city on the border of North Korea where the North Korea propaganda blasts over the border for many hours of the day, a harping, discordant background noise. A girl from his hometown recognizes and seizes upon him for attention and companionship. He's pretty keen on this, she's forward and bright and fun. When she returns from a trip abroad she's paid for on the never never of credit cards he's thrown by her new man she's met while away. He's a bit of a mystery, wealthy, strangely interested in spending time with Jong-Su and never answering anything directly. They become a trio of friends but there's far more going on than our rather dim Jong-Su can grasp. Until he is forced to.
This is a GREAT film, I was absolutely sucked in from the start. The film I thought I was watching was not what it became! I loved all the layers, and the very artful revealing of this story.
