Representation of Fatalism Through the Motif of Trains

In Peppermint Candy, the visual motif of trains represent fatalism and an individual’s inability to change fate. Although trains act as vehicles of movement, they are ultimately restricted to movement along predefined tracks, which determine their routes. 

In a general sense, the train acts as a symbol of Yong-ho in the film, and the tracks as a symbol of his fated lifeline. These symbols are made obvious when Yong-ho yells “I am going back!” in the end of the first chapter, when a running train is about to make contact with his body. Yong-ho’s face is caught in a still frame, possibly connoting the pause in realtime. The next shot shows a train running along a track, and the entire scene emanates non-diegetic music, giving it a surreal quality. 

The train that symbolizes Yong-ho, and that appears in each chapter break, is eventually revealed to be running backwards. This movement creates a visual figuration of Yong-ho’s act of “going back” in time. In this sense, Yong-ho seems to hold a supernatural power. However, this power is ultimately futile, because regardless of his freedom in returning back in time, the end of Yong-ho’s life will remain the same. Metaphorically, the train can reverse but its fate has already been predetermined.

The film’s reverse chronology adds to the feeling of fatality, as the audience realizes from the beginning of the film that the ending - both for Yong-ho and for the film itself - cannot be altered. In the juxtaposition between fate and individual freewill, fate is depicted to ultimately prevail. The hope and sympathy that may be stirred up in the audience throughout the film is automatically coupled with the realization that Yong-ho’s eventual emotional demise cannot be avoided. 

The sense of fatalism is emphasized in the end of the film. The youngest version of Yong-ho (that the audience is able to meet) attends a picnic on the beach that he will visit again later in his life. The youthful Yong-ho tells Hong-ja that he feels as if he has visited the beach before, which solidifies the viewer’s conviction in the existence and prevalence of fate, despite individual attempts to battle against it.