Burning

Hae-mi asks a childhood friend to mind her cat while she holidays in Africa; she returns with a new boyfriend and Jong Su becomes the third wheel in the relationship.

The pull to describe this long movie taken from a short story as a slow burn is irresistible. There you have it, a slow burn and a psychological one at that; there's little action to observe. The pervasive existential sorrow carried by almost every character is weighty. Patience is required to watch this meticulously constructed movie, with its growing sense of menace held together by nightmare sequences and circumstantial evidence. Trial by fire.

Limited Release 18th April 2019
Palace Films 148 mins