Notes on all six of Lee Chang-dong’s directed features up to date:
Green Fish (1997)
Peppermint Candy (1999)
Oasis (2002)
Secret Sunshine (2007)
Poetry (2010)
Burning (2018)
Similar to many contemporary directorial spotlights, I
started in the middle. The first Lee Chang-dong film I saw was his 4th,
Secret Sunshine, at the Vancouver International Film Festival. I then viewed
his next two films in order, Poetry (2010) and Burning (2018). Given that Lee
Chang-dong has only directed 6 features, a spotlight of seeing his first three
features and revisiting the next 3 felt feasible and much needed.
Cinematic Novels
I labeled Lee Chang-dong’s films as cinematic novels even
before I was aware that he had written two novels. Considering
his films via the lens of a novel makes a lot more sense now as his films have
an emotional depth akin to a novel. In addition, his films are propelled by a
strong narrative and the emotional punch arrives via the consequences of the
characters’ actions. The characters in his films aren’t clean cut and are
emotional, flawed and messy individuals with baggage of their own. In contrast,
many other Korean contemporary directors, including Bong Jong-ho and Park Chan-wook, use genre to propel the story forward and thriller/mystery elements
to heighten emotional impact. On the other hand, the emotional punch in Lee Chang-dong's films arrives from
the harsh reality his characters find themselves in.
Films such as Poetry, Oasis and Secret Sunshine are freed
from any genre pretense and presented as harsh realities and result in emotions
hitting harder. The final moments of Poetry (including that last frame) is such
as example. Burning uses a mystery framework but even then, Lee Chang-dong
retools the film in a different manner from a conventional genre treatment. It isn’t a surprise that a retrospective of his films was called “Cinema of Trauma”by MoMA.
Big Four
Lee Chang-dong has won plenty of awards for his films. However, it feels like he isn’t as celebrated compared to Bong Jong-ho, Park Chan-wook or even Hong Sang-soo. The limited output of 6 features has certainly played a part and the story of his films such as Oasis and Secret Sunshine aren’t going to draw crowds in. Secret Sunshine remains the only film that I have seen in a cinema where an audience member had such a visceral reaction to the film that she showed the finger at the screen and walked off in anger.
Burning has an easier entry point for audience compared
to his other features. Burning should have made the final cut for the Academy
Award Foreign Film Category but it fell short and a year later, Parasite made
history for Korean cinema. In a way, this highlights the difference in
perception for Lee Chang-dong. Bong Joon-Ho crossed over the threshold globally
at the Academy Awards and Cannes while Park Chan-wook has a cult following due
to his Vengeance trilogy and Hong Sang-soo has a collected devotion of fans and
gets awards on a regular basis. Lee Chang-dong has won awards right from
his first film but his films (with exception of Burning) aren't as frequently cited in conversations related to contemporary Korean Cinema.
This spotlight has changed my perception of his films though.
Out of these four Korean directors, Bong Joon Ho, Park chan-wook, Hong
Sang-soo, Lee Chang-dong, I would place Lee Chang-dong well ahead of Hong
Sang-soo and Park Chan-wook and tied with Bong Joon-ho in terms of cinematic
power. When it comes to a powerful story, I would easily place Lee Chang-dong
ahead of the other 3 while Bong Jong-ho would come out on top when it comes to
a polished end product that combines social commentary with genre.
Ranking Lee Chang-dong’s 6 features (in order of preference)
As it turns out, the ranking is close to the order of their
release as well
1. Burning (2018)
2. Poetry (2010)
3. Secret Sunshine (2007)
4. Oasis (2002)
5. Green Fish (1997)
6. Peppermint Candy (1999)
Peppermint Candy unfolds like a novel with each chapter highlighting key moments in the character’s journey. Not all the chapters are powerful enough, which is why this film gets to the bottom of the list. Green Fish made me think of early cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien while the gangster element in that film and the volatile nature of main character in Oasis recalled Kim Ki-duk’s older films (especially Bad Guy) but those similarities are only on the surface. Interestingly, topic of Poetry reminded a bit of Bong Jong-ho’s Mother (2009) and both films were a year apart. However, the difference in execution and finale of both films highlights how the two directors approach their work.
Other reading
Dennis Lim's article on Lee Chang-dong is excellent and worthy reading.
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