Peppermint Candy (1999)
A suicide you might not bother to save.
Presentation:
This film doesn’t look that great to be frank, especially if you’re going back in time and watching this film because you loved the film Burning, made by the same director. The story is novel in that it is a drama that is told in reverse order about the life of a troubled man and why he committed suicide. This film ultimately wasn’t executed or explained well. It’s a snapshot of a Korean tragedy with rolls of films in reverse. Memento is a better film. Lee Chang Dong probably shows you the end of the film at the beginning because if he told it linearly audiences wouldn’t bother to watch the end.
Conclusion:
The film doesn’t really have any purpose or message, it naturally follows a Korean man’s life with no focus in particular. The non linear storytelling element is the most novel aspect of this film, but I didn’t find myself caring until the last two chapters. Are you willing to watch nearly 2 boring hours in order to have a payoff? I also don’t see the connection of how the events made him into the man at the end or why he is such an inconceivable asshole. For this reason it kinda feels real, maybe autobiographical, but it should require a mature mindset as it’s really difficult to care about such a lead with no redeeming qualities. The ending is really hit or miss, but it somehow does catch a flicker of magic at the end, barely capturing a fleeting moment of profoundness.
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Recommendations
A sacred slow burn.