Peppermint Candy (1999): Looking back in anger
1999 • Lee Chang‑dong • 1.85:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
The second feature film directed by Lee Chang-dong, Peppermint Candy (1999), opens with the apparent suicide of a man and then unfolds in reverse chronological order. Each subsequent segment moves further back in time, revealing key moments in the man’s life. As the narrative progresses, earlier events are revealed to have influenced his final decision.
The film uses recurring visual elements like trains and railway tracks, the titular peppermint candy, photographs, and fragments of memory as markers of time and emotional state. The story operates as a temporal deconstruction, linking personal trauma to historical circumstance and transforming revelation into retrospective understanding.
Released at the turn of the millennium, Peppermint Candy reflects on late 20th-century Korean history through an individual life trajectory. Its sombre, reflective tone conveys strong emotional intensity. Violence and trauma are depicted without sensationalism, while moments of innocence are given greater significance through retrospective contrast.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: A middle-aged man stands on train tracks about to take his life. Then, in reverse chronological order, we witness the past twenty years of his journey: from a hopeful youth to a broken soul shaped by Korea’s political upheavals. Read my review of Peppermint Candy.
- Actors: Sul Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Kim Yeo-jin, Suh Jung.
- Director: Lee Chang‑dong
- Year: 1999
- Cinematographer: Hyung Koo Kim
- Origin: Korean Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Genre: Drama
