In this masterful adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story Barn Burning, Lee Chang-dong manages to capture and retain Murakami’s dreamlike ordinariness and irrational sense of time, while also portraying Koreans’ experience of extreme economic disparities and the disappointment and frustration of the erstwhile middle class. The director’s sixth film, Burning was premiered in the 2018 Cannes IFF’s Official Selection – In Competition, where it was awarded with the FIPRESCI Prize and the Vulcain Prize for technical artistry.