| Director | Lee Chang-dong |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 148 min |
| Country | Japan, South Korea |
| Box office | $8.1 million |
Lee Jong-su, an aspiring young novelist, performs odd jobs in Seoul. One day he runs into Shin Hae-mi, a childhood neighbor and classmate, at a promotion at which he is making a delivery. Jong-su initially does not remember her, but Hae-mi tells him she had plastic surgery. Jong-su gives her the pink watch that he won at the promotion. Later, she tells him about her upcoming trip to Africa and asks him to feed her cat, Boil, while she is away. Before Hae-mi's departure, Jong-su's father, a cattle farmer in Paju, becomes entangled in disagreeable legal affairs, and Jong-su has to return to the farm. Jong-su visits Hae-mi's apartment, where he receives instructions about feeding the cat. They then have sex.
After Hae-mi departs, Jong-su dutifully feeds her cat, although he never sees it. He does, however, presume that a cat is there because he finds feces in the litter box. He begins habitually masturbating in Hae-mi's apartment. One day Hae-mi calls, saying she had become stranded at Nairobi Airport for three days after a bombing nearby. When Jong-su comes to pick her up, she arrives with Ben, a man whom she met and bonded with during the crisis. The three go out for dinner, where Hae-mi cries and confesses that she wants to disappear. Ben is wealthy, but does not give a clear answer when asked what kind of work he does.
At Jong-su's farm, the trio smokes cannabis and Hae-mi dances topless. After Hae-mi has fallen asleep on the sofa, Ben confesses that every two months, he burns an abandoned greenhouse as a hobby. He notes that Jong-su's rural neighborhood is full of greenhouses. When asked when his next burning will take place, Ben claims it will be very soon and close to Jong-su's house. Jong-su chastises Hae-mi for disrobing in front of other men. She quietly gets into Ben's car and they drive off.
Jong-su keeps watch around the neighborhood to see if any greenhouses burn down, but none do. One afternoon, in front of an intact greenhouse that he is inspecting, he receives a call from Hae-mi, which cuts off after a few seconds of ambiguous noises. Jong-su becomes worried as she does not answer any of his calls, and begins to investigate after her phone number becomes disconnected. He convinces the landlady to let him into Hae-mi's apartment so that he can feed her cat. Hae-mi's apartment is unnaturally clean; her suitcase remains, and all signs of the cat are gone. Jong-su begins staking out Ben's Gangnam apartment and following him to see where he goes. When he sees Ben's Porsche parked outside a restaurant, he goes inside to confront him. Ben insists that he did burn down a greenhouse near Jong-su's house. A young woman approaches the table, apologizing to Ben for being late. As the three of them leave the restaurant, Jong-su asks Ben if he has heard from Hae-mi and whether she has gone on a trip. Ben says he has not heard from her, and he doubts she has gone on a trip because she could not afford it. Ben says Jong-su was the only person she trusted and that it made him jealous for the first time in his life.
One day, Ben finds Jong-su waiting outside his place and invites him up to his apartment. Ben has a new cat, which he claims is a rescued stray. In the restroom, Jong-su finds a pink watch, similar to the one he gave Hae-mi, hidden in a drawer containing other pieces of women's jewelry. When Ben's cat runs out of the apartment, Jong-su finds that it answers to the name "Boil." Jong-su silently leaves the dinner party Ben is hosting, despite Ben's pleas for him to stay.
Jong-su asks to meet Ben in the countryside, claiming he is with Hae-mi. Ben sees that Hae-mi is not there and asks Jong-su where she is; Jong-su stabs him to death. He then douses Ben's car and body in gasoline and sets them on fire, tossing his blood-soaked clothes in as well. He stumbles naked to his truck and drives off.