By DEIRDRE CRIMMINS
Starring Aysanat Edigeeva, Ömürbek Izrailov and Kalicha Seydalieva
Directed by Radik Eshimov
Written by Aizada Bekbalaeva and Dastan Madaldiev
1.1 Studio
There are always various versions of the truth. It is famously said that a single story between two people has one person’s version, the second person’s version and then the truth. BURNING takes a look at the fiery fate of a suburban family from the perspective of three meddling neighbors, and proposes that the real story lies somewhere within.
Taking the RASHOMON approach of exploring the same events from various perspectives in multiple iterations, BURNING (which had its North American premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival) opens at the end. A house burns in a small, tight neighborhood one night. As the neighbors each arrive at the one local shop to pick up their odds and ends, they naturally talk about the tragedy and what they think happened behind those charred closed doors. Some similarities exist across the various versions, but the motivations and mental states of the family in question all shift drastically based on what each neighbor saw in the weeks leading up to the blaze.
The threads of commonality are clear. This is a young married couple who recently lost their young son. The husband’s mother arrived shortly before the fire. The wife had been acting strangely in the days leading up to the disaster: running around asking for help, and then disappearing into the woods. Beyond these irrefutable truths, there is plenty of room for observation, extrapolation and good-old fashioned gossip.
Each of the three variations on the tale aims to villainize one of the household’s three members. The way director Radik Eshimov and screenwriters Aizada Bekbalaeva and Dastan Madaldiev manipulate perspective and empathy from one segment to the next is remarkably skillful. Scenes and encounters that have been convincingly shown one way are built upon rather than refuted to add depth, though not always clarity. As the evidence mounts and the observations are compounded, BURNING calls into question everything it has already shown.
The emotional gravity of each scene and each character is never treated lightly. Much of the credit for the latter goes to the three lead performances. The invading mother is played by Kalicha Seydalieva, who has earned the highest honor possible in Kyrgyz cinema. Without knowing much more about the history of that county’s industry, it would be safe to say she is considered the Meryl Streep of the central Asian nation. Aysanat Edigeeva and Omurbek Israilov, who play the central couple, are married in both real life and BURNING’s reel life, and the authenticity and vulnerability they bring to their roles–all the iterations of them–carry the film far beyond salacious and into excruciating.
Eshimov is best known for directing comedy television and films in Kyrgyzstan. Again, without being educated in much Kyrgyz screen history, BURNING might make Eshimov his country’s answer to Jordan Peele. Or maybe he is a creator unto himself entirely, and I should quit trying to shove an Eastern entity into a Western box?
Beyond the deft direction and effectively upsetting performances, there is some truly impressive art direction, notably in the house. Before being destroyed by the fire, this dwelling itself contains a great deal of BURNING’s drama and trauma. Doors and where they lead, keys and windows, wallpaper and scribbles all contribute to the sense of dread and inexorably developing scenario as the different versions of the story unfold. Given how the home is used against each character at various points in the narrative, there is no nostalgia or love lost in watching it repeatedly go in flames. However, there is a different emotional effigy aflame as the tales weave their way through the beams and walls. BURNING is an masterful exploration of perspective and blame, and should it receive North American distribution of any kind, seek it out.
