Filmmaker Lee Chang-dong is perhaps best known to Western audiences for his film Burning, which stars Yoo Ah-in, Jeon Jong-seo and Steven Yeun. Adapted from a story by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, the psychological thriller focuses on an ominous love triangle and one character’s inclination toward arson. The 2018 film was South Korea’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards and became the first Korean film to make the final shortlist.
Lee is the winner of multiple international awards for his work as a director and screenwriter, with Burning winning the Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize, as well awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Toronto Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review. Yet Burning is only one of Lee’s critically acclaimed works, more of which will be featured during the New York City retrospective series, Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong, which begins on April 5.
“The six films curated for this retrospective each serve as vessels for my earnest contemplations on life, society, and humanity, each in their own way,” said Lee.
The series will include four new 4K restorations of his films Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis, and Poetry, each opening for a one-week exclusive theatrical run. Alongside these restorations the series will feature A Brand New Life, which has never seen North American distribution, and Burning, the film that brought Lee the most attention stateside, plus his films A Girl At My Door and Secret Sunshine. For those not familiar with Lee’s work, here’s some background.
Green Fish: Lee directed and produced the 1997 film Green Fish, about a young man (Han Suk-gyu) who throws his lot in with the local mob and finds himself in trouble after starting an affair with his boss’s girlfriend.
Peppermint Candy: Lee wrote, directed and produced this film, which moves backward in time, its reverse chronology following its protagonist’s unhappiness to its source. The film follows him from the end of the 70s to the close of the 90s—years of enormous transformation in South Korea—and from youthful romanticism to cynicism.
Oasis: Lee wrote, directed and produced this story about a young man, played by Sul Kyung-gu, who gets out of prison and is shunned by his family. He finds a soulmate in the person of Gong-ju, played by Moon So-ri , a woman with severe cerebral palsy. She’s also the daughter of the victim of the hit and run incident for which he was jailed. The couple takes shelter in fantasy.
Poetry: The 2010 film features Yun Jung-hee as Mija, who is raising her troubled teenage grandson Jong-wook. As her ability to care for him is threatened by a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s she begins to study poetry. The film, written and directed by Lee, was awarded Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2010.
A Brand New Life: Lee wrote the screenplay for the 2009 film A Brand New Life, which focuses on a nine-year-old girl, Jin-hee (Kim Sae-ron), whose father hands her over to a Catholic orphanage in Seoul before his impending remarriage. The French-South Korean co-production was honored with the Best Asian Film Award at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival.
A Girl At My Door: July Jung directed A Girl At My Door, a film written by Lee. In this film Bae Doona plays a police officer, Young-Nam, who is concerned about a local teen Do-hee, played by Kim Sae-ron. When she takes the teen under her protection she must confront rural prejudices.
Secret Sunshine: Directed by Lee, this film features Jeon Do-yeon as a shy piano teacher who relocates to her late husband’s hometown. She’s looking for a fresh start but soon has to face a life-altering tragedy. The role won Jeon a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival
“It brings me great delight and thrill to hold my retrospective at the esteemed Metrograph, renowned as a cherished haven for cinephiles in New York,” said Lee.
Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong runs from April 5 to April 28 at the Metrograph, with select encore screenings to follow.