[Fantasia 2025] FILM REVIEW: Burning

Burning - Fantasia North American Premiere Review

Director: Radik Eshimov

Starring: Aysanat Edigeeva, Omurbek Israilov, Kalicha Seydalieva

Written by: Aizada Bekbalaeva, Dastan Madaldiev

Produced by: Bakhtiyar Matyanyu, Sultan Pirzhan, Askhat Tabaldiev

Cinematography by: Kerim Kasymaliev

Synopsis:

In the wake of a shocking house fire in a small village, the neighbours gather at a local convenience store and take turns giving their version of what happened leading up to the burning and who really started the fire.

Thoughts:

There's absolute no way on Earth would I have watched or even become aware of a film like 'Burning', had it not been for the fact that I am covering Fantasia, which is why we will continue to push Fantasia as one of the best film festivals in the world. Getting the opportunity to discover incredible talent like Director Radik Eshimov and writer Dastan Madaldiev is a gift we dont take for granted.

'Burning' is a tightly woven, gripping, supernatural mystery that is actually really tough to watch at times. I'll do my best to give my thoughts on the film without spoilers.

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It's night time in a small village in rural Kyrgyzstan. Torrential rain. Endless rain. A house has just caught fire and it looks like there may be some casualties. The locals gather to assess the situation, but mainly just out of curiosity. A few of them split off into a local store and while they wait for the rain to settle, they begin to surmise how and why the fire may have started. One by one, through a veil of guesses, rumours and at times eye witness accounts, they translate their story. But each story is different, so who is telling lies?

I had no idea what to expect when I began watching this. In fact I had no idea what the premise was, I was simply drawn in by the artwork and the fact that I wanted to open myself up to films from this particular region. It works as a sort of modern reimaginging of Kurosawa's 'Rashomon'. The film begins slow but when it finally kicks in it'll grab you by the throat. It's split into 3 chapters with each one being a version of the events that led up to the house fire. And the house in question belongs to Merat and Asel, a young couple who have recently lost their son in a fairly horrendous fashion. They are both struggling in their own way and each chapter addresses their struggles.

I was a bit skeptical at to where the story was going, but half way through the second chapter I was starting to get really hooked by the storytelling. I was really impressed with how all the pieces of the puzzle in the entire film started to come together and fit into place.

Each chapter shares fragments of the same story, a shared truth. Chapter 1 focusses on an evil mother-in-law that wants to take Asel's baby. Chapter 2 leans heavy on the supernatural elements and claims that Asel is possessed by a Jinn. Chapter 3 is a completely different take on what's happening which I will not mention here. The finale comes together really well.

There's a couple of creepy moments, mostly in Chapter 2, when Asel is behaving like a woman possessed. There's one particular scene where she is cackling hysterically, witch-like and then another sequence where her body reacts in a very animalistic manner. Outside of that there's not many traditional scares but the very real and very dramatic reaction to losing a child is terrifying enough. My only gripe with the film was the musical score. Some of the music didn't quite match the scene. It's a small gripe and probably more of a culture difference than anything.

With both leads giving incredibly committed performances, 'Burning' is a depressing and tragic film that asks a lot of questions. You might guess some of the answers to those questions before the actual reveal, which is truly heartbreaking, but either way you likely won't forget the film for a long time.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

-Gavin Logan

'Burning' received its North American Premiere at Fantasia '25 on August 1st