YMMV / Burning (2018)

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Ben really a Serial Killer, or is Jong-su an Unreliable Narrator?
  • Did Hae-mi actually fall into a well as a child and get rescued by Jong-su, or is it a lie she made up for attention? Did the well even exist at all?
• Award Snub:
  • Despite getting rave reviews as one of the best films of the year, it failed to get a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
  • Steven Yeun received rave reviews and critic's awards for his performance as Ben, but failed to break into the televised awards.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: This film is based on a story titled "Barn Burning". Steven Yeun would later try to rescue his barn from burning in Minari.
• Nightmare Fuel: Hae-mi's final phone call, in which it's strongly implied she's being murdered.
• Signature Scene: Hae-mi's Nude Nature Dance has won accolades as the most memorable scene of the film, and one of the best pieces of cinematography in 2018.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: This film lasts nearly two and a half hours, Ben's conversation about burning greenhouses doesn't happen until the halfway point, and not much seems to happen before then. There are some Chekhov's Gun moments, but they are only important with the benefit of hindsight
• Values Dissonance: Some western viewers were surprised at how casually Hae-mi got and discussed having plastic surgery, despite not coming from much money. Plastic surgery is much more common in South Korea, which has the highest per capita amount of procedures, in contrast to the United States, where it's ordinarily reserved for the wealthy and tends to still carry the stigma of only being for the vain.

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