There are no 4th floors in Korea so Ben living on the 4th floor is a huge metaphor for something. Or... maybe he would, because he knows Ben will play along. Jongsu is a young man who lost everything- he lost his father, his mother, his dreams, and his love. One day, Ben and Haemi pay Jongsu a visit, and Ben reveals his secret interests to Jongsu. He hates rich guys and things that rich class (which Ben represents) is killing everything artsy (which Haemi represents). When he arrives he says something like "You said you and Haemi wanted to talk" -- let me know if you folks remember that too -- and I don't get it. Second: the layer of social criticism of modern Korea (mostly poor education and class differences). I dunno. Why does Jong-su kill Ben? Burning Movie: What was real, and what was part of Jung-su’s novel? His only option for justice was to murder Ben. It could tie into his mysterious wealth as well but in total that is a far reaching way to look at the ending, but none the less, an interesting way to see it. Hae-mi calling Jong-su when she was meeting with Ben could be interpreted as South Korea trying to call North Korea when they are trying meet with Western country(most likely U.S.A) which is quite relevant politics. Is she lying? Question. Higher class). Again Ben is an egotistical character, one that needs to feel at the center as shown throughout his social scene, so having someone to make him infamous is perhaps part of his evolving 'bass kick'. Instead, Jong-su is quick to ask her to go with Ben and pulls her bags out of his truck. She mentions this just before they have sex. Where the disappearance of a character is supposed to play more on the emotions of the people around them, and the audience is supposed to care less on whether it actually happened or not. This is. He goes out of his way to call Jong-su over to his parties and introduces him to his friends. Ben might also represent the lure or “escape” that death might give to not being good enough. I like your interpretation and since I've just watched this movie and you've watched it for the 2nd time, can you help me out with my theory: I suspect that Ben harvests organs and this is why he's wealthy seemingly without a "real" job. The pacing was exquisite. That was the last scene with her. I am very intrigued by the group of friends. He's even not in her home physically, but he is in dreams and this gives him the energy to create. A lot of what we see of Ben is through Jong-su's tainted perception (he is jealous of Ben's wealth and possibly Hae-mi's attention) which makes innocuous things like the yawning seem more insidious than they could actually be. But that scene also shows how young adults are treated like cattle and not taken seriously. Sometimes you even wonder if she’s just taken on a false name to mess around with Jong-su. In the restaurant, she performs mime with the orange very well. And finally, Haemi- a person who shared in his loss, is snuffed out before him. he called her ugly so she got plastic surgery and his last words to her were to call her a prostitute. While Ben is a cultured, wealthy guy, the novel presents a dark side by making him a serial killer. Years later, after being released with severe disfigurements, he seeks to target those responsible at a nearby summer camp. When Ben offers Hae-mi a drop home, she expects Jong-su to step up and say that he would drop her. Ben preys on these women because no one would miss them, just like no one would miss an abandoned greenhouse.-Haemi didn't fall into a well. Skywalker found Solo asleep and used the Force to look into Solo's mind; he saw even greater darkness than he had feared, and that Snoke's machinations had already turned his nephew's heart. This notion about her is used to provide the element of surprise when Jong-su calls the cat by the name Boiler, and it responds. Hae-mi is missing, and her room is neat and tidy, which is unlike her, but more like Ben. The light reflecting off the tower into her room reminds him of the time they had sex. Since, his father was being in court due to his Intermittent explosive disorder. Burning Plot: What's the story?. He tells Jong-su that he’s scouting for his next target and that it is “very close” to Jong-su. The Burning is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Tony Maylam, and starring Brian Matthews, Brian Backer, Leah Ayres, and Lou David.The plot tells about a summer camp caretaker named Cropsy who is horribly burnt from a prank gone wrong. Why isn't he writing at home? It's a film like a house of many blocks ald all of them work in many ways. I think, as Haemi (and her home in particular) is used as the image of freedom and artistic source. Cookies help us deliver our Services. In a 'Yeah, yeah, I think there was a well, whatever' way. In the beginning, Ben jokingly suggests Jong-su should write about him. However, in Jong-su’s novel, he’s decided that Ben is a killer. The other angle is that Ben is not a killer, Hae-mi has just moved on and created a new life for herself elsewhere and what we see towards the end of the Burning movie is the story of the novel that Jong-su is writing. Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. There was this moment when the main character asks Ben about a burned greenhouse and explains that he hasn't seen any in his area. I have no idea why Jongsu always stares at this satellite (or a tower of some sort) outside his window whenever he masturbates. From Murakami’s large body of work, Barn Burning may not be the most obvious choice for a film adaptation. Then he loses contact with Hae-mi and starts to look for her. I don't know. The light reflecting off the tower into her room reminds him of the time they had sex. With Farrah Fawcett, Paul Le Mat, Richard Masur, Grace Zabriskie. However, I think this told this what could've been a typical revenge story in a really, really, really(I just had to repeat that) interesting way with many interesting symbolism and such. His writing however will be his strength. I was surprised at the end because I half expected Haemi to show up and Jongsu realize to his horror that he'd murdered an innocent man. Everywhere she turns for help, there's not much anyone will do. Or maybe both guys becomes psychopath.Maybe,maybe.Hae-mi isn't dead at all!How somebody has written in here last scene can be in mind of character and she comes back but it's a small chance. I think Ben also eyed to guide Jongsu but also saw Jongsu as the final bridge to burn (pun intended) for Hae-mi to give up and let go. Synopsis After Ben mentions that he burns down an abandoned greenhouse about every two months and that he's planning on burning one very close to Jong-su's home, Jong-su starts to pay attention to likely targets around him. Damn it. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, The official subreddit for YourMovieSucks.org, Press J to jump to the feed. Overall, my interpretation of the movie was that Hae-mi committed suicide and Ben was her guide. Thought I will add on to this thread with some things I picked up on: In Haemi's room, the sun shines in only for a brief period - likewise, Haemi appears in Jongsu's life only for a short period and her disappearance casts him into darkness culminating in his cold-blooded murder of Ben. It commented on the class issues in Korea. is an outstanding element of misdirection. If he mentioned the cat, there would be no way to confirm it was Hae-mi’s as even the building admin didn’t know about the cat. Deliveryman Jongsu (Yoo Ah In (유아인)) is out on a job when he runs into Haemi (Jeon Jong-Seo), a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. When they are having sex, he is staring at the light hitting a part of the wardrobe - this is the light reflecting off the tower. Earlier in the scene he requires the tenant to unlock her apartment for him, but I doubt she would let him in again. Let's call them "greenhouses", which he isn't able to burn, at least one in a couple of months, to feel himself free). Hae-mi is somewhere in between. Because her family did not recgognize the facts about Haemi. When Hae-mi comes back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met in Africa, to Jong-su. The reason she does up her room like that is to make it feel like she never lived there, like she. Perhaps that was the hint, that will become her horrific fate. Blitz Spirit: Independent Short Film Review, Dogtooth Ending Explained (With Plot Analysis), 10 Best Sci-fi Horror Movies (A Must-Watch List), I Lost My Body: Explained Simply (2019 Netflix), Parallel Movie Explained (Plot-holes and Fixes), Starfish Movie Recommendation and Explanation, Tenet Explained Simply (With Timeline Diagrams), Under The Skin (2013) : Movie Plot Ending Explained, Superman Returns (2006) : Why It Was Horrible, Logan (2017) : Movie Plot Ending Explained, Fight Club (1999) : Movie Plot Ending Explained, Murder By Numbers (2002) : Movie Plot Ending Explained, Ben mentions to Jong-su about his “hobby” of burning greenhouses. I'll be thinking about it for some time since there is a lot to pore over. I personally think well symbolizes Jong-su and Hae-mi themselves. -Where to be fair, she was out of town for a while, and considering her attitude while she was talking with Jong-su, it could be that a)she just remembered it wrong since she was out of town for a long time, b)she could've just answered it without really thinking it. Lee Chang-dong's Burning won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and is … He doesn't know what to do with his life and just walks arount with round eyes, not participating intellectually in anything around him. It looks like Ben kills someone once in two months. This is also shown in how Hae-mi’s apartment is immaculate and neat. Hae-mi asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. So, it's safe to say calf is basically Jong-Su himself. But when they are with Ben's friends, they laugh at her as she mimics the tribal dance. Hae-mi said she fell into well, and shouted for help and she saw Jong-su. I feel this is a deep weakness in the film because if this is his play, and that's a big IF, I want to see Jongsu struggle to figure this out. There's a certain weary sadness in his demeanor and I like to think he is regretting hurting Haemi when he tells the jealousy story. We know he has traveled to Africa more than once (note all the African art and souvenirs in his apartment) and his door man mentions to Ben that he is back from home (which we find out later is a lie since his family clearly lives in Korea). How in the hell is he writing his novel in HER apartment? An abused battered wife has had enough of husband beating up on her. Sure evidence is one thing but it has something to do with the memory he could never forget from his childhood. Jong-su’s mother, however, remembers a well, but she herself is a wreak and highly unreliable. Even the women’s accessories are not substantial evidence. While Haemi is asleep after a night of beer and smoking joints, Ben reveals his hobby to Jongsu: he likes to set greenhouses on fire. This is the part of the social critique layer. b) He traffics them (specifically, he sells them as sex slaves in Africa). After Jongsu gets the cat, Ben invites Jongsu back up to his apartment to talk about Hae-mi, but Jongsu already made up his mind that Ben killed Hae-mi. Here are links to the key aspects of the movie: Based on what is stated by the director, Lee Chang-dong, there are two ways to explain the movie Burning. This angle explores the metaphorical nature of the movie Burning. Another reason that Ben is the symbol of death is because he lives on the 4th floor. He doesn't know what to do with his life and just walks arount with round eyes, not participating intellectually in anything around him (even during sex, for fuck's sake!). Burning (2018) Synopsis An introverted young man, Jongsu (Ah-in YOO), finds romantic interest in a young woman from his past, Haemi (Jong-seo JUN). I'm not much an in depth writer but to add a blip on some things-. and Jong-su is the old Korea that doesn't really belong anywhere anymore and that Ben thinks of as those abandoned greenhouses which ruin the landscapes of SK. The psychological drama, originally titled Beoning, comes from … The class critique in "Burning" is as unsubtle as F. Scott Fitzgerald's was, and it creates unbearable tension, rage crackling off the screen. Ben claims that he has never shed a tear in his life, that he’s never felt sadness. Ben is not literally burning greenhouses. Everything from there is only part of the book’s fictional story. But that can’t be true, can it? So maybe that was about Hae-mi? – What does Ben mean by Burning Greenhouses? Burning is an Mystery, Drama, Thriller movie that was released in 2018 and has a run time of 2 hr 28 min. 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