AMSTETTEN. On Wednesday, October 30th (7:30 p.m.) the thriller “Burning” (ages 16 and over) can be seen in the German version at the Amstettner youth center A-Toll. The film evening is organized by the Perspective Kino Amstetten association.
In “Burning,” director Lee Chang-dong transforms a short story by Haruki Murakami into a complex drama about three people and their desires. The film develops a tension that is just as hard to escape as the impressive presence of the actors.
Jong-soo (Yoo Ah-in) lives in the South Korean city of Payu, where he makes ends meet with delivery jobs – although he actually studied and dreams of becoming a writer one day. But he lacks the focus in life that he finally thinks he will find when he accidentally meets his former classmate Hae-mi on the street.
The two become friends again and even spend a night together. But then Hae-mi asks Jong-soo to look after her cat and travels to Africa for a while. The young man in love waits longingly for her return. But when he finally picks her up at the airport, he is completely stunned when she introduces him to Ben, whom she met on the trip.
Ben not only looks good, but also seems to be very rich and has a lot of self-confidence, which increasingly intimidates Jong-soo. Nevertheless, he repeatedly joins Hae-mi and Ben’s ventures until one day he tells them about his unorthodox hobby…
In Cannes, “Burning” was unanimously hailed by critics as the highlight of the festival and won the International Film Critics’ Prize. In addition to numerous other awards, “Burning” also received the award for the best Asian film of the year.
