Looks good, last Korean film I saw was The Wailing which was intense. I'll check and see if I can rent it anywhere.
I think he is a killer. His use of the metaphor about burning greenhouses says it all for me, I don't think he enjoys killing people as he enjoys seeing the downfall of everyone who was connected to this person. Killing simple, basic people that are beneath him in every way after he's tired of their simpleton antics. Ben being into 'assisted suicide' is already a bit fucked up but it would at least imply that he has be a level of empathy I can't possibly see him ever having.
Yeah, if Ben did kill those women, I don't see it as an assisted suicide situation at all. Those women were full of life. They might've been alone, on the margins of society, had complex problems, but nothing indicated to me that they were suicidal. Haemi had that "great hunger" for life and meaning. And she literally moved through her world and the screen like someone who was immersed in exploring and experiencing life. The woman after Haemi also seemed excited to be dating Ben. Bought a bunch of groceries eager to help Ben's house party. Nothing in her costume or her presentation pointed to a possible wish for self-annihilation.
I don't know. I didn't see her as someone immersed in exploring and experiencing life. I saw someone very depressed and trying to keep things together and looking for a reason to continue living. The whole point about not wanting to die vs not wanting to have existed in the first place (also the miming discussion) sounded exactly like depression to me.
Seriously, Steven Yeun deserves an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Just watched it today. I have seen all of Lee Chang-dong's movies, so I'm familiar with the topics he usually tackles. And toxic masculinity is a recurring theme (the protagonist in Peppermind Candy is an incredibly sexist asshole, the guy in Oasis immediately tries to rape the girl with cerebral palsy).
But one scene in Burning still threw me off.
Jong-su, so far a shy, timid guy, says he's fallen in love with Hae-mi and immediately afterwards calls her a whore for showing her breasts. I was taken aback. What the fuck? I don't mind characters with flaws, but I felt like we were still supposed to sympathize with him after that point. And I just couldn't.
You think he's just shy and timid?
He housesits for her and ends up pathologically jacking off all over her room. He has major issues. He's obviously the more sympathetic character because he's not a (possible) serial killer, but if you don't believe that Steven Yeun killed her, that makes Jong-su an unjustified murderer.
True, but even that doesn't make him unlikeable. He seems inexperienced, as if he's just discovering his sexuality. He's a bit of an enigma, so we don't know all that much about any potential issues (though they are certainly hinted at). So that's why to me the "you're a whore" scene came as a bit of a surprise. Incidentally, it's also the last time he sees her if I remember correctly.
I don't get the plot. Is it taboo to burn down a greenhouse and like a girl in South Korea? The trailer doesn't do anything for me, but for some strange reason....I am intrigued. *plays thriller theme song
That's so cool. Definitely worth a watch!!
Yeah it's on Netflix (USA)
So am I the only crazy person who's got a weird theory that
Haemi didn't actually go to Africa at all?
Wow I saw this a couple nights ago. Shit was crazy. Can't stop thinking about it.
I don't think she did either.
My theory is that Ben was a guy who makes a living by "helping" troubled women (those in debt, etc) create new identities. He "coaches" them on how to convincingly tell stories about overseas trips, hooks them up with plastic surgeons, etc. Basically Hae-mi was actually getting "coached" by Ben while supposedly in "Africa".
My question is does Ben actually kill the women and keep their personal items as trophies, or did Hae-mi leave, and Ben is simply covering for her and his illegal business (and also fucking with Jong-su since Ben's somewhat of a sociopath)?
Either way, to me Ben in one way or another makes women disappear.
Yess! Going to check this out later today. Just saw the trailer today actually due to the thread bump lol
Thinking back on the movie, have we really seen anything outright from Ben where he acts sociopathic? I know he gives that vibe but I can't really recall any direct actions that indicate so.
The only statement is that desire to burn down abandoned buildings.
Yes.
There's that scene where he says he finds people crying interesting because he can't remember ever crying himself, and that he doesn't know if he feels sadness.
He also says that he "plays" for a living. To me that implies that he likes "playing" with people, with greenhouses being a metaphor for women. He "burns down" the women no one cares about, and there are a lot of them in rural parts.
The thing is, I'm not sure if he was just "playing" with Jong su by saying that lol. If Ben actually does help women "disappear", not by killing them but by helping them run away, and he realizes Jong-su is in love with Hae-mi, he might've been thinking "well she's about to leave, so I'm about to fuck with this dude by making it seem like I killed her lol". Like Ben's been playing with people all his life, and in the end it comes back to bite him.
Or he could just be a killer lol.
If Hae-mi was going to disappear it doesn't make sense for her to approach Jongsu in the first place.
Idk....
Maybe she saw Jongsu as one of the last pieces connecting her to her "old self". When they visit Jongsu at his house, she's reminded of her home growing up, and her taking her top off and dancing is almost like she's shedding the last bit of who she was. Plus she needed someone to look after her cat while she was out doing whatever with Ben haha.
why are there so many greenhouses in rural Korea? why are so many abandoned? i feel like i'm missing a little context here.
Well what about when she did come back? She didn't have to keep calling him. And what about Ben? Ben asked her to call Jongsu. If he's in the business of making people disappear he looks unprofessional calling up her old friend.
Again this is all just a theory, but it might be another "test". During those party scenes where Ben is with Haemi, and later that other woman, he's sort of watching them tell these stories of trips to foreign countries as if he's judging how well they do. Like a coach or some shit. And the women telling the stories tell them in a very "canned" way, as if rehearsed. Even the whole "African dance" seemed like made up bullshit. So Ben is using Jungsu as a "test subject" for Haemi, but he finds him so pathetic he continues to fuck with him.
It could also be true that Ben coaches them, but also kills some of them as well lol.
This movie is basically Haemi's "falling in the well" story for me. Don't know what to believe haha.
Got to see this the other day. I left sort of unimpressed, but its sticking with me. The film has a lot to dissect after. Only major issue is, the film is too long, which limit my initial impression
I mean yea, I think they're definitely in on it.I too caught this on Netflix recently. Feel like I should rewatch it soon.
I have no evidence to support this but it felt like Ben and his yuppie friends were in it together? they just reminded me of a cabal of vampires or something, sucking the blood of the youthful women Ben brings home. Again, just the vibe I got.
why are there so many greenhouses in rural Korea? why are so many abandoned? i feel like i'm missing a little context here.