Burning

     The movie Burning used film to bring a lot of Murakami to life. The characters and their relationships are very similar to "Barn Burning"; the protagonist has a special relationship with the woman, she goes to Africa and brings back a new guy who she seems detached from yet he's always there. The new guy is wealthy, friendly, and suave enough to serve as a foil to the main character. Though the protagonist in Murakami's story is married, I think the creators of the movie adaptation made the protagonist single in order to spark sexual tension; the jealousy can more easily cut both ways. The filmmakers made the protagonist more of a "character," as he has problems with his father and he's poor. However, in the context of the movie, this makes sense.

    The atmosphere of the movie is extremely tense and warped with suspicion. As opposed to the story, which doesn't flesh out the main character's suspicions and doesn't drop hints, the movie has Jong-Su follow Ben and discover things like his drawer of trophies and the cat he definitely stole. I felt like the atmosphere of the story was lighter, but the tension caused by jealousy was still there: the protagonist questions her with "'We?'" when she says she's dropping by with her friend. Because they have sex in the movie, the jealousy has more layers to it, and because the exact nature of their relationship is never revealed, the protagonist, along with the audience, is left with a distrust for Hae-mi. So while some aspects of the tone are the same, I think the movie heightens the tension with the intention of breaking it with a knife.

    Murakami, of course, comes through because this was originally his story. But the filmmakers did an amazing job capture Murakami's sense of mystery and ambiguity. Rarely does Murakami explicate an ending like we saw in the movie, but before the ending, the entire film was shrouded in a mystery that remained unsolved, save some clues hidden in the dialogue. What especially helped the movie play was the actors' inflections, particularly Ben. There was more insinuation behind his words: by laughing at the concept of burning greenhouses, the audience can more easily infer that he's not really talking about burning greenhouses. However, he commits to that while simultaneously not fully uncovering the truth, just like in Murakami's story. As with any good writer, they often find creative and innovative ways to paint a picture, set up a scene, or describe a character's motivations. Murakami does this through inner monologues, taking us through exactly what a character is thinking. While the movie can't do this, the actor's intentions are made more obvious by filming from his point of view and showing his determination through running and visiting her house. The end result, however, is the same: we understand our character better. 

    Moving it to Korea made little difference, in my opinion. What's integral to the story isn't the location, but what the characters' relationships are. Suspicion and jealousy are suspicion and jealousy, no matter the culture. What's funny is that they bash on Chinese and American culture, much like the Japanese do. Overall, I quite enjoyed the movie: it's moreso a thriller than "Barn Burning", but it has a lot of the same themes. The ending, I think, is what really sets it apart from the story. Rather than leave the audience wondering, our protagonist takes action. This action is set up by his proclamation of love and their sexual history, so plot-wise, it checks out. It's a lot more cinematic than the ending to Murakami's story, so maybe this is the satisfying conclusion to both stories: the murderer gets what's coming. 

James