Burning(Beoning)

After a random re-encounter in Seoul, aspiring writer Jong-su – from a working-class, agrarian family background in Paju – becomes attracted to childhood neighbour and classmate Hae-mi. When Hae-mi returns from a trip to Africa, however, she introduces Jong-su to Ben, a mysteriously wealthy, Gatsby-like individual she met there, who confesses teasingly one day to Jong-su his curious and sinister hobby of setting greenhouses ablaze for amusement. Lee’s compelling adaptation of Murakami Haruki’s ‘Barn Burning’ significantly reworks its source material for a far stronger real-world context to comment on contemporary social inequalities, while incorporating aspects of William Faulkner’s short story of the same title that inspired Murakami’s literary text.

Cannes Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize

Grand Bell Awards: Best Film

29/12 (Fri) Speaker: Mary Wong (Writer and Associate Professor in Chinese Department at Lingnan University)