Strange predilections lead to mysterious consequences in the trailer of Lee Chang-dong’s South Korean film Burning. Produced by Pinehouse Film, Now Film and NHK, the thriller is based on Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s short story Barn Burning. It is South Korea’s official entry for the Foreign Language category at the 2019 Academy Awards.
Burning centres on Lee Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in), an introvert who reconnects with an old acquaintance, Shin Hae-mi, (Jeon Jong-seo) and agrees to look after her cat while she travels to Kenya. When she returns, Hae-mi is accompanied by Ben (Steven Yeun), whom she befriended there. But there’s something strange about Ben, who confides to Jong-su that he enjoys setting greenhouses on fire. “When Jong-su learns of Ben’s mysterious hobby and Hae-mi suddenly disappears, his confusion and obsessions begin to mount, culminating in a stunning finale,” according to the official synopsis.
Burning was screened at the Cannes Film Festival this year and was released in South Korea in May. It will be released in the United States of America on October 26.