Burning Comments

Burning (2018) managed to turn a ten-page short story into a two-and-a-half-hour-long movie… and the movie made me appreciate Murakami’s original story more. Perhaps it was because I already knew what to expect after reading the short story, but I found the movie long, slow, and slightly boring. Despite this, I can recognize the aesthetic and visual appeal of the cinematic version. I particularly enjoyed the ending of the movie because it added closure that was not provided in the short story. Murakami intentionally left the ending open without confirmation that the pantomime woman was murdered by her new boyfriend. The mystery of the story is brushed over, and the narrator doesn’t really care too much about it or the woman, except for stating that he thinks about barns burning “now and then.” This lack of reaction and indifference by the narrator was strange to me, and I’m glad that the movie went further with the story and included Jong-Su killing Ben for his cruel deeds and ultimately ending the murder streak.

The depiction of socioeconomic class differences in the movie was also a very interesting addition. Hae-Mi is treated like an oddity by Ben and his wealthy friends, and this is especially evident in the dinner scene where Hae-Mi drunkenly performs a dance for everyone and they all (except for Jong-Su, who remains silent) encourage Hae-Mi to make a fool of herself. Jong-Su notices this strange occurrence, and the camera also emphasizes Ben’s indifferent/uninterested expression in this scene even though he is supposedly Hae-Mi’s lover at the time. This same scene is replicated with the next girl that Ben pursues, and the wealthy group again mockingly/jokingly indulge the girl as she animatedly tells a story that no one else is very interested in. They all treat Ben’s girlfriends as something strange to observe, like an animal or a child. Although Jong-Su is treated quite normally by Ben, the difference between Jong-Su and the girlfriends is significant. 

This socioeconomic difference is also obvious when seeing Hae-Mi and Jong-Su’s possessions compared to Ben’s. Jong-Su’s home at night is pitch dark, while Ben’s house is always well-lit and bright. Hae-Mi’s apartment is a small and tight space that is cluttered with all her belongings, while Ben’s is extremely spacious with luxury decorations. Jong-Su’s truck is large, dirty, and loud, while Ben’s sports car is shiny, sleek, and fast. In the scene where Jong-Su attempts to follow Ben onto the highway, Ben eventually is able to speed away by hitting the gas and weaving seamlessly through the many cars, while Ben is left stuck. This scene left an impression on me, as it seemed to portray the “chase” between Jong-Su and Ben, and suggested that Jong-Su would never be able to catch and expose Ben. The last scene, where Jong-Su both murders Ben and also sets Ben’s car on fire, seemed to represent how Jong-Su has successfully “caught” Ben and brought justice to Hae-Mi. The use of the cars symbolically represented the chase and also the tragic end to Ben as we watch him burn in his car through the rear window of Jong-Su’s truck.

Although I did not love movie as a whole, I think it did an excellent job at bringing the story to life and staying pretty accurate to the original plot. The additions that were made in the movie only enhanced the story, and brought closure where the reader may have been previously left unsatisfied or questioning.

-Michelle