I have no idea how long Peppermint Candy has been sitting on my watchlist now, but I'm sure it has reached the point of years. A film that I've seen around a lot for its very famous introduction. Known as one of South Korea's best films of the 90s and a solid reflection of modern life's chaos. Korea's films often being of this style, very much aware of life's cruelty and taking advantage of human emotion to exacerbate the drama, causing tears in the audience and pain their hearts. Something that later led to the boom in television series dramas that so many now love. Though I must admit, I have been neglecting the South Korean side of things lately. A little bit of burnout over that formula despite the nation still managing to throw out a few hits here and there. But it was a realisation of how much time I've been putting off Peppermint Candy for that led to me finally checking out; actually having been quite certain it was actually a Japanese film and thus my main reasoning for watching it after my recent viewing of Kids Return.
Peppermint Candy came at a time of dramatic change. Just on the brink of Y2K and displaying the anxiety of life in South Korea. The troubles of its citizens and the pain felt all summed up into one character, bundling the struggles of a growing nation into a person to portray it all. It is a very Korean film that gave me flashbacks to other Korean films full of similar pains; Memories of Murder came to mind with much of the directing style, having me really appreciate the visuals and the manner in which the film paces itself alongside the more dramatic elements. A film that still feels quite long at the expense of also connecting the viewing with the over reaching nature of a tough life. At which point does the suffering end? Something we come to discover at the very start of the film, starting at the end and working our way back to the start. A unique film to say the least, and still rather simple, but perhaps also not what I had expected from it despite knowing a little about the film already. Is this a bad thing? No! I highly recommend checking it out; just be aware that it'll probably have you feeling down.
I'll avoid mentioning spoilers in this review, and don't worry, the first mentions of the story are very basic, leading to a greater narrative. Not actually a spoiler!
Peppermint Candy
Peppermint Candy starts with the end. The ending of a person's life at their own decision. A suited man in pain, roaming the countryside having given up. Stumbling across a group of old friends that speak of different times. Having made his decision already, he walks up on the nearby train tracks which run through the area and the mountains. Waiting for the next train, fully prepared for the end. Well, the end comes. Our protagonist is dead, and the film starts the story of this unfortunate soul as it tells the series of events throughout his life that caused him to reach this state of total depression. I really liked the way the film starts off, having pulled me in with a character that seems so utterly broken, fully decided on such a drastic option. Only to then proceed in giving us a very human look into the loss of life we just witnessed. The film continues to pull you in with curiosities as we see the man has suicidal tendencies already, almost establishing these sequences in reverse, from death going backward in time. This unique manner of telling a story allows for the film to pace itself in a way that feels immersive, particularly as this reverse storytelling doesn't slow down, if anything it merely increases in the chaos and drama as the film goes into its two hour runtime.
Shot on 35mm film, one of the first things I noticed was the beauty of the visuals. Even with very muted, dull tones that make the surrounding environment seem so plain and boring. Void of life and enjoyment. I noticed the beauty in the very photography compositions that the film utilised to display the varying paths we take in life, leading lines to direct our attention throughout the frame. Particularly noticeable was the cinematography as the camera moves throughout the frame and environment, slowly panning in different directions to introduce an out of frame character that then becomes the focus of the scene. It really added to the environment and the role it plays in this character's life, almost making it seem as if we are also placed within this environment as we witness the past. Our eyes roaming through it before finally noticing the lives and stories being told within it. A lot of these movements are slow, dramatic, and even in moments of chaos it seems very still. There's this contrast between the slow movements of the camera and the fast-paced events on screen that add to the sadness of it all. A sad, slow look at the world.
This directing style and the events we see as the past is revealed ends up revealing a very fragile, unfortunate man. One that has experienced good times, but often has them followed with something far worse. Also a very much flawed person himself and somewhat deserving of the hardships he faces. And the film presents each of these events to us through specific segments; chapters that split the film up by dates, often different seasons throughout different years. Time skipping between three to four years at a time as we catch the glimpses of how much things have changed and fallen apart. And it does a great job at portraying this character as someone deeply human, flawed in his own ways and hardly just a victim, full of his own faults and bad acts that amount to many regrets. While I've seen many Korean films that focus on the drama and pulling on the heart, Peppermint Candy didn't seem like it was actually trying to do that throughout. It felt a lot more grounded, very much believable with the depiction of many years that had gone by and our protagonist had aged and changed. Slowly shaped by the years before, all seeming to lead to a certain point in time that may have likely changed things forever for him.
It was a surprise of a film. While I had known about it for a long time, I had only really seen the first few scenes mentioned online. Though I feel that the film had plenty to offer, particularly visually. With very beautiful scenes that showed a changing environment, full nature and life but still very cold and bland. We certainly have the use of 35mm film stock to thank for that, alongside the aforementioned creative cinemaotgraphy and directing that was carefully utilised to increase the worldbuilding and showing how our character interacted with it. A relatively long runtime, but very much worth it if you're up for feeling sad!
