Peppermint Candy (Bakha satang) (2000)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Justin Y

  
  <i>Peppermint Candy</i> is a film that is all about character development and if you like this type of drama you will enjoy this movie.<p>The span of the plot takes place from 1979-1999. Let me rephrase that. The span of the plot takes place from 1999-1979. Yes,… More
  <i>Peppermint Candy</i> is a film that is all about character development and if you like this type of drama you will enjoy this movie.<p>The span of the plot takes place from 1979-1999. Let me rephrase that. The span of the plot takes place from 1999-1979. Yes, the twenty years of one man's life is told in 130 minutes and in reverse order. It all starts in 1999 with the demise of our main character, Yong-Ho. As the film progresses, or reverses, you get to see how Yong-Ho ends up the way he does.</p><p>The nice thing about the storytelling is the fact that you get to see not only the change in Korea, but the change in character for Yong-Ho. A lot does happen in 20 years after all. On the flip side, there is nothing really eventful, with the exception of the 1980 segment near the ending. If you are not able to appreciate the slow burn drama, this will be a huge bore. Believe me when I say that 2+ hours of this doesn't fly by.</p><p>The soundtrack is mellow and appropriate while the camerawork is professional. Both of these help with the success of this film.</p><p>Kyung-gu Sol heads the film and does a nice job at changing personalities from the beginning to the end. The 2 female leads, So-ri Moon and Yeo-jin Kim, do good jobs as well.</p><p><i>Peppermint Candy</i> takes a nice approach with the storytelling and it deserves the attention that it gets. Too bad it isn't exciting enough for someone like me.

• Luke B

  
  Lee Chang-Dong again astounds me with another startling film. Unlike most films we don't see a character progress as the scenes are played in reverse chronological order. The protagonist regresses and we see a harsh, bitter suicidal and violent man turn back into the sweet and… More
  Lee Chang-Dong again astounds me with another startling film. Unlike most films we don't see a character progress as the scenes are played in reverse chronological order. The protagonist regresses and we see a harsh, bitter suicidal and violent man turn back into the sweet and gentle student he once was. Unlike many comments this is nothing like Memento, in Memento the scenes all linked together here however each segmen is set years apart. Not only do we see a fragile mans life unravelled before us each part also comments on a major political/historical moment in Koreas recent past, and not in a preachy dull way either. A film that at first makes you confront the main character, before forcing you to withstand him before finally accepting him. Well paced and expertly crafted this is another great entry into what is shaping to be a fabulous and unblemished filmogrophy.

• Lesley N

  
  Yeong-ho wants to kill himself, and then he does. That's the first ten minutes sorted, then the next 110 minutes shows how he became what he became, by going backwards through the previous twenty years of his life. As one of the few reverse chronology films, it's definitely… More
  Yeong-ho wants to kill himself, and then he does. That's the first ten minutes sorted, then the next 110 minutes shows how he became what he became, by going backwards through the previous twenty years of his life. As one of the few reverse chronology films, it's definitely worth a watch, though I found it harder to get involved fully in his life when such a large time span was being covered with a handful of key moments. The sweetness of the final scene stays though.