Peppermint Candy

An unforgettable masterpiece by one of Korea's greatest directors.

Existentialist Korean drama in rewind, told with some heavy political critique woven in. Its darker moments are seriously chaotic and abrasive, adding to the weight of the whole, and giving the enigmatic/melancholic ending a greater imprint.

8?

Seeing most of his movies in reverse chronological order (fun coincidence), this movie makes it clear how much Chang-dong has evolved as a filmmaker. Peppermint Candy feels like a great script handled by a decent director. This script with an older Chang-dong Lee would probably have been close to a masterpiece but as is it mostly works because of his primary literary strengths; rampant symbolism denoting depth, unflinching and dark humanism and a willingness to leave things unanswered.

Films that play backwards will never not feel a little gimmicky, but as gimmicks come and go I did like the recurring objects being traced back through time. A film about the Korean people as much as it is about the man himself.

Life is tragic indeed. The ending scene and the order of the sequences, are absolutely heart wrenching

Feels weird this isnt a famous masterpiece or the best thing ever made, because of how hard it hits, and the aura of mystery that sets in at the end. But probably think this due to watching immediately after election. Violence in this is rly good because its v predictable. Story of what happens to the soul when you give in to your surroundings (again maybe just election).

Há 20 anos estreava no Festival de Busan. O homem nasce bom, são as instituições patriarcais que o corrompem, no caso o exército e a polícia. A estória contada de trás para frente segue um desenvolvimento de personagem brilhante, nós passamos pelo questionamento do porque aquele homem está se matando, para em seguida descobrirmos que ele na verdade era um homem muito ruim e do porquê ele ter se tornado isso. Enfim, é um filme muito intenso sentimentalmente. DVDRip no MKO

Slow to start, ends up a beautiful film.

Chang-dong Lee, ilk zamanlarında ve bu kadar çapaklı bir filminde bile ileride ne kadar büyük bir yönetmen olacağının sinyallerini çok net veriyormuş. Her ne kadar usta yazarlığının görsel karşılığını tam olarak verebildiğini düşünmesem ve melodramın dozunu biraz yüksek tuttuğuna inansam da yine kendine hayran bırakan bir hikaye işleyişi ve anlatım var.

Perhaps overacted, but an excellent allegory for the sociopolitical situation South Korea was in at the time, and what predicated it. Almost a fable or morality tale set in contemporary times, with some nice low-key production design, scenes of both light humor and stone cold emotional horror, balanced well. The soundtrack is a little off-kilter and gives a nice dreamlike tone, contrasting with the uncomfortable realism of the drama. About 20 minutes too long. In the middle. 1984 stuff.

The personal drama is effective, but I'm having trouble with the way Yong-Ho's story meshes with the historical touchpoints. Firstly, there seems a disconnect between the 5th Republic (authoritarianism -- Yong-Ho in the army & police) and 6th Republic (economic crisis -- Yong-Ho's marital failure & bankruptcy) phases of the narrative. Secondly, the innocence & purity of the 1979 scene which makes sense for Yong-Ho's story but doesn't sit well with the historical analogy.

With a narrative running chronologically in reverse, Peppermint Candy tells the story of a man mentally damaged by his interactions with the South Korean authoritarian state in the 1980s.

Its structure makes it less about what will happen and more about why something has happened, and that the three crucial powers that affect our main character Yong-ho's life are the Gwangju massacre, the tightening grip of the government and the Asian financial crisis is no coincidence. The re-occurrence of symbols, including tear drops, candy and the train which will one day kill Yong-ho, add to the inevitability of the whole thing. Very moving.

A little hard to follow the first time, but I like it.

Sentimentality, backwards..

I don't get it why he's so emo. I didn't really enjoy this movie, thought it was pretty boring

a good Korean film with a good directing