Peppermint Candy

Lee Changdong filmed the film, Peppermint Candy in 1999. Unlike the most of the films in these days, the film, Peppermint Candy shows one’s life story by taking audiences on the backwards train.  There are 7 different vignettes within the film’s reverse temporal denouements, which are ‘1999 spring, Picnic’, ‘1999 spring, 3 days prior, Camera’, ‘1994 summer, life is beautiful’, ‘ 1987 April, confessions’, ‘1984 Autumn, Prayer’, ‘1980 May, visiting camp’, ‘1979 Autumn, picnic’. The Peppermint Candy includes the higlights of the Kwangju Massacre of May 1980. With this film, audience can see the Psychological problems that the main character, Young ho has.

At the beginning of the film, Young ho screams, “I want to go back again!” Young ho wants go back to days when he experienced childish first love. The part when Young ho had to be changed by the society appeared anxious for me. Most audience might felt pitiful for Young ho while watching the film. However, was it only the society that changed Young ho? Were the surroundings changed Young ho’s pure heart? At the end of the film, Young ho portrays as innocent guy who met his first love at the picnic. However, he seems weak. He felt ‘dejavu’ on the way to his picnic, and he fall down on the ground while others are singing together. Why was he crying at the picnic when others are happy? Was he had a premonition of this own ominous future? May be this picnic was formed with the members from the ‘union activities’.

It seems like Young ho has the social phobia in this film. At the beginning of the film, garibong’s picnic in 1999, others mentioned that it was hard for them to contact to Young ho for the past few years. At the picnic in 1979, the film shows the scene when everyone else is singing and seems to be happy but Young ho stays alone at the ground. Not only at the picnic but also at the army, audience can easily see that Young ho doesn’t fit himself into the troops. His weakness and social maladjustment lead him to suicide at the railroad.