Backtracking from his suicide as a broken and depressed man, the film recounts the life of Yong-ho, from his tragic demise to his innocent youth, in reverse order. In between, he is a student, a soldier, a police officer and eventually an investor who loses a small fortune in the stock market. The second film by Lee Chang-dong (Burning; Poetry) this 1999 movie is recognized as one of the key texts in contemporary Korean cinema.
Watching this film for the first time at the tender age of 13, I was equally riveted and haunted by the sights and sounds of this complex human drama. I had never seen anyone on-screen or in real life express the types of emotions that are on display in this film. Until that time, I thought movies were simply meant to be a form of entertainment, but this film opened my eyes to the power that cinema can have. The story is told chronologically backwards, tracing the key moments in a troubled man’s life as well as the key moments of the country’s recent history; sort of like Forrest Gump, but NOTHING like Forrest Gump. The lead performance by Sol Kyung-gu is haunting, beautiful, and devastating. This is the single most important and impactful film of my upbringing and I believe is an essential watch for anyone interested in Korea.
Anthony Shim
October 3 & 7: Introduced by Leading Lights guest programmer Anthony Shim
Sol Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Kim Yeo-jin, Se-beom Park, Suh Jung
South Korea
1999
Leading Lights
In Korean with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Jae-Young Jeon, Gye-Nnam Myeong, Makoto Ueda
Screenwriter
Lee Chang-dong
Cinematography
Hyung-Gu Kim
Editor
Hyun Kim
Original Music
Jaejin Lee
Art Director
Il-hyun Park
Director
Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-Dong became a sensation both in Korea and abroad with his 1997 debut feature Green Fish. Lee Chang-Dong’s first film Green Fish (1997) was a film about space in its depiction of the space of a planned city that replaced farming land. Peppermint Candy is a film about time in its portrayal of a person’s life as seen through both the destructive and redemptive forces of time. Peppermint Candy is his second feature.
Filmography: Green Fish (1997); Oasis (2002); Secret Sunshine (2007); Burning (2018)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Everyone Is Lying to You for Money
In which former OC star Ben McKenzie brushes off his economics degree and digs into the cryptocurrency conundrum. If bitcoin is truly all about transparency, how come no one can explain it?
Erupcja
Charli xcx headlines this indie gem about a young English couple coming unmoored over a few days in Warsaw. Will means to propose. Beth has cold feet -- and an escape hatch she has barely admitted to herself... Think Before Sunrise 2025.
Do You Love Me
Lana Daher's bravura and defiant non-fiction film is a cultural-historical self-portrait of Beirut, comprised entirely of film clips (many of them from dramatic features, but also from news reports, TV and home video) culled from the last 70 years.
Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
This intimate and candid film by a younger husband and wife artist team is a delicate and immensely moving dual portrait of two artists, husband and wife, together and apart, at that point in life when the end casts a shadow over even the sunniest day.
Image: © Manon et Jacob and Final Cut For Real
Blue Road - The Edna O'Brien Story
Judging by this candid, funny, passionate biographical documentary, it would have been a wild ride to have been Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, or even to have been in her circle of friends and lovers. Well, for an hour and a half we can pretend we were.