Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2018: #12. Lee Chang-dong’s Burning

Burning

About a year prior, South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong was about to begin production on his sixth feature, Burning before abruptly announcing the project was canceled (it seems there was a dispute between the source material’s author and the Japanese broadcaster owning the rights to the material). Production resumed in November 2017, which is an adaptation of a short story by Haruki Murakami called “Barn Burning.” Steven Yeon, of Bong Joon-ho’s Okja stars as one part of a trio brought together by mysterious incident. Like the William Faulkner story it recalls, one of the characters is (or claims to be) an arsonist. Known for culling phenomenal performances from his actors, he took home the Silver Lion in Venice for 2002’s Oasis, while his 2007 masterpiece Secret Sunshine nabbed Jeon De-yeon a well-deserved Best Actress win at Cannes and 2010’s Poetry, won Best Screenplay at Cannes. Burning marks the end of an eight year absence.

Release Date/Prediction: Changdong should be a shoe-in for Cannes 2018.