Directed and written by Lee Chang Dong
Stars Seol Kyung-gu

This was a breakout role for Seol Kyung-gu,
who really didn't stand a chance of landing the role
until he impressed the director while acting out
this scene:

A man, driven to madness, anger and suicide.
Unhappy, wants to take someone with him.
He has many other factors to blame for being driven to the edge.

An owner of a small business.
who, thanks to economic turmoil, is going bankrupt.

The movie starts with the 40 something man
ready to kill himself before a charging train,
screaming I want to go back.

When I came back to Korea after studying and working
overseas more than half of my life up to that point,
it was the year 2000.

And the most talked about movie was
Peppermint Candy.

It was gloomy,
the story seemed unappealing,
and only much later I found out that
it was supposed to go back in time
instead of moving forward.

Great movies leave you feeling something inside
even if you watch it again.
Especially if you watch it at a different point
in your life.

For me, watching Peppermint Candy in 2000 and
again just recently this year was an earth-shaking experience.

There are movies that jerk your tears
by tugging at your heart strings.
There are the ones that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Then there are those that crack you up.

But this one, made me cry,
not out loud, not physically.
No tears streamed down my cheek
by the movie was over.

But I swear something inside me was
crying, and weeping very hard.

Song Break

In some respect a part of what the story is about
can be compared to Citizen Kane, where rosebud is the key word.

Peppermint candy has something to do with
Seol's character, who starts out, early in the movie
as a cynical and destructive man, who can't stand those candies
among other things.

You begin hating this man.
But as you take a trip back in time
to the stages in his life
and the stages in the turbulent history of Korea,
you begin to feel for him more and more.

In the late 80s.
He is a seasoned cop who is used to his job.
Torturing pro democracy movement student leaders
for confessions and names.

Mid 80s
A rookie cop who can't get used to the act
of torture and smell.

Early 80s
National servicemen,
forced to take part in the military show of brute force
against student demonstrators as well as the general public.

Watch the movie, as it is guaranteed to
keep you engaged and experience the lingering side-effect:
Reflecting on your own journey in life thus far,
and more.


Song Break