• Mar 27
• PEPPERMINT CANDY: DVD review
• Posted by Deljhp - 27/03/10 at 11:23 AM

Director: Lee Chang-dong Lee. Review: Adam Wing.

All aboard the second film from writer-turned-director Lee Chang-dong (Green Fish), the time-bending South Korean drama Peppermint Candy. A tragic tale of innocence lost, which unfolds in reverse chronological order and follows the ups and downs of Yong-ho’s (Sul Kyung-Gu) eventful life. We first meet him as a middle aged man, attending a friendly reunion at the side of a railway track. The other partygoers welcome him with open arms, but it’s clear from the start that Yong-ho is a little unbalanced. Soon enough he finds himself on the bridge overhead, standing in front of an oncoming train. With an agonising scream he informs the world that he wants to go back, and that’s precisely where we go.

Over the next two hours we are witness to the events that shaped his life, from his time in the military to his career as a merciless police officer. There’s a softer side to be explored as well, from his failings at home, to his regular liaisons with high school sweetheart Sun-Im (Moon So-Ri). In telling the story backwards, Lee Chang-dong has taken a well-worn formula and turned it on its head, presenting us with a refreshing take on a decreasingly troubled mind. Over the course of twenty years Lee Chang-dong focuses on the turning points of Yong-ho’s life, and it’s a fascinating journey from beginning to end, end to beginning, you see where I’m going with this...Continue review here.

Peppermint Candy trailer