Ben's metaphor with the Greenhouse wasn't a metaphor to represent his dark hobby his whole life. He only came up with it after seeing the greenhouses he lives near in representing the women he "burns" as in murder. And knowing that Hae-mi was his neighbor makes the line "burning greenhouses" a lot more sense.
One interesting thing of note is that Ben's cat is seen being quite comfortable sleeping in one of his friend's arms while his new girlfriend talks about the Chinese, despite us knowing that Boil has "severe autism" and is extremely shy of strangers. It's not a mistake by the director, which kinda pisses me off cause now I can't convince myself without a doubt that Ben did it.
The metaphor of the greenhouse - an enclosed space that cultivates in an "unnatural" way, the growing of something outside of its normal/conditioned environment - as Ben's ambiguous victims was perfect.
Burning is one of those movies where you realise the movie’s impact on you after a couple of days later. You really summed it up all well in this video essay, which is unarguably one of the best video essays I’d say.
I have a defense for the movies runtime and pacing IMO. A lot of people said it was boring or a waste of time, but I think that aspect of it is a big part of what makes the themes of ambiguity and frustration so apparent. Spending time with Jong-Su in his everyday while he dwells on his circumstance puts us in his shoes. While he wanders and mulls, we cant help but pick apart every detail and ponder every little aspect of the environment and scenes, just like Jon-Su is. It encourages the sense of being stuck in your own head and forces the fervor of staying awake at night dwelling like Jong-Su likely had been doing. It makes every "aha" moment much much more poignant. Without so much dead space and dead ends, moments like finding the watch and "Boil" would be easier to dismiss as coincidence, we wouldnt be as swept up by a new clue without scarcity.
Really appreciate that fans can adept and understand a slow paced, ambiguous massively subtextual film. Oft, works like this in American discourse are shaped and bashed, but personally I love them.
It’s crazy, that movie didn’t let me go even 5 years after seeing it for the first time. It touches me on so many different levels. I just love it! And your essay too. Captures the mood of the movie perfectly.
i am outraged your channel hasn't blown up, this was an absolutely stunning analysis of this film, one of my absolute favourites. in fact i think you have managed to encapsulate an understanding of this film few have. this was beautifully presented. please keep making videos
What an amazing interpretation of this masterpiece of a movie. Burning moved me so much that I couldn‘t sleep for days thinking about the deeper meanings of this metaphor: burning. I eventually found my personal understanding of the movie but only after seeing this video, I finally felt like I could really understand what I so desperately tried to put in words in my mind. You managed to give my thoughts about this „great hunger“ the structure I searched and I am so thankful for that. You are amazing :)
The fact that this video doesn't even have 1k views is an outrage, this is undoubtedly the best video essay I've seen on burning
Ben's metaphor with the Greenhouse wasn't a metaphor to represent his dark hobby his whole life. He only came up with it after seeing the greenhouses he lives near in representing the women he "burns" as in murder. And knowing that Hae-mi was his neighbor makes the line "burning greenhouses" a lot more sense.
One interesting thing of note is that Ben's cat is seen being quite comfortable sleeping in one of his friend's arms while his new girlfriend talks about the Chinese, despite us knowing that Boil has "severe autism" and is extremely shy of strangers. It's not a mistake by the director, which kinda pisses me off cause now I can't convince myself without a doubt that Ben did it.
Maybe Haemi went to the annual Squid Games...
The metaphor of the greenhouse - an enclosed space that cultivates in an "unnatural" way, the growing of something outside of its normal/conditioned environment - as Ben's ambiguous victims was perfect.
love this film
I find the “slow burn” of the pacing oddly cathartic. This film unlike many, made me really feel in the protagonist’s shoes
The naturalism of the cinematography is just fantastic. So much underrated these days.
This is great
great review man
Burning is one of those movies where you realise the movie’s impact on you after a couple of days later. You really summed it up all well in this video essay, which is unarguably one of the best video essays I’d say.
I have a defense for the movies runtime and pacing IMO. A lot of people said it was boring or a waste of time, but I think that aspect of it is a big part of what makes the themes of ambiguity and frustration so apparent. Spending time with Jong-Su in his everyday while he dwells on his circumstance puts us in his shoes. While he wanders and mulls, we cant help but pick apart every detail and ponder every little aspect of the environment and scenes, just like Jon-Su is. It encourages the sense of being stuck in your own head and forces the fervor of staying awake at night dwelling like Jong-Su likely had been doing. It makes every "aha" moment much much more poignant. Without so much dead space and dead ends, moments like finding the watch and "Boil" would be easier to dismiss as coincidence, we wouldnt be as swept up by a new clue without scarcity.
Really appreciate that fans can adept and understand a slow paced, ambiguous massively subtextual film. Oft, works like this in American discourse are shaped and bashed, but personally I love them.
excellent job. Burning is in my
It’s crazy, that movie didn’t let me go even 5 years after seeing it for the first time. It touches me on so many different levels. I just love it! And your essay too. Captures the mood of the movie perfectly.
This movie lives rent free in my head! You summed this up and analyzed it beautifully!
rewatched this last night. so glad to have found your video. more to think about! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Beautifully done. Thank you.
i am outraged your channel hasn't blown up, this was an absolutely stunning analysis of this film, one of my absolute favourites. in fact i think you have managed to encapsulate an understanding of this film few have. this was beautifully presented. please keep making videos
What an amazing interpretation of this masterpiece of a movie. Burning moved me so much that I couldn‘t sleep for days thinking about the deeper meanings of this metaphor: burning. I eventually found my personal understanding of the movie but only after seeing this video, I finally felt like I could really understand what I so desperately tried to put in words in my mind. You managed to give my thoughts about this „great hunger“ the structure I searched and I am so thankful for that. You are amazing :)