Burning

While delivering goods in a market, Lee Jong-Su is approached by a girl he knew in high school, Hae-mi. Over the next couple of days they rediscover a friendship, which is disrupted when she travels to Africa as part of a relief organisation, leaving him behind to look after her cat. But when she returns, he’s surprised to see her accompanied by Ben, a richer man who seems like an idle playboy. And then things get tense…

It’s probably not wise to reveal too much more about this slow-burn (excuse the pun) thriller, beyond that it begins exactly where it needs to and ends exactly where it needs to, and in between there’s a film that is ambiguous, romantic, beautiful, bewildering, emotional, surprising and tense. All three leads deliver great performances, with Steven Yuen perhaps most highlighted both because of his international reputation (having largely performed in US film and TV previously, this is his Korean language debut) and his character’s ambiguous menace, but Yoo Ah-in and Jeon Jong-seo both also give their characters full dimension. It’s a slow tease that draws you in until you’re completely in its grip, only letting go with the final shot. Absolutely recommended.