Synopsis
Kim Young-ho (Seol Kyung Gu) is a fortyyear- old man with both a failed business and marriage. He stands on the railway line and shouts, “I’m going back”. Peppermint Candy follows Kim Young-ho’s life through 7 chapters in reverse time order: from the present as he stands on the railway line, to the past, when he went on a picnic with his first love Soon-im (Moon Sori) 20 years ago. How do unhealed historical scars destroy a person by taking him from being a victim to an attacker and outsider? Director Lee Chang-dong’s time travelling tale records the painful transformation of Kim Young-ho, whose soul has been stolen by time as he moves from being a factory worker, a solider, a detective, and then the owner of a furniture shop. Rookie actor Seol Kyung Gu brilliantly expresses the innocence, guilt, snobbery and cruelty present in one person. Lee Changdong’s in-depth directing and Seol Kyung Gu’s instinctive acting completes 20 years of wounded Korean modern history.(KIM Hye-seon)