Lee Chang-dong: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is proud to present a complete retrospective including new 4k restorations for GREEN FISH, POETRY, PEPPERMINT CANDY and OASIS from critically acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong.

A born writer, Lee Chang-dong was urged later in his literary career to pursue directing by his contemporaries, to whom audiences everywhere will be forever indebted. Chang-dong’s observant screenplays, poetic visuals, and complex characters are just a few reasons why the American Cinematheque is elated to present an all-encompassing retrospective of Chang-dong’s feature-length directorial work. Often pushing his characters to the emotional brink, Chang-dong’s penchant for melodrama and tragedy can be found from his neo-noir debut, GREEN FISH, in which a soldier is discharged from the military only to be reenlisted in the violent gang now running his hometown, to his most recent BURNING, in which an innocent favor for a childhood friend drags an ordinary handyman into the most sinister of scenarios. Isolation, innocence lost, psychological trauma—the broader themes of Chang-dong’s work are brought into stark relief by working-class protagonists, often directed in a hands-off, naturalistic style. Join the American Cinematheque as we stare down this auteur’s glorious cinematic pit of despair.