MEMORIES OF MURDER
****1/2 out of *****
Reviewed by Finger_Of_DOOM

Genres
Crime
Mystery
Thriller

2003
Directed by
Joon-ho Bong
Written by
Joon-ho Bong
Kwang-rim Kim
Sung Bo Shim
Cast
Kang-ho Song .... Detective Park Doo-Man
Sang-kyung Kim .... Detective Seo Tae-Yoon
Roe-ha Kim .... Detective Cho Yong-koo
Jae-ho Song .... Sergeant Shin Dong-chul
Hie-bong Byeon     .... Sergeant Koo Hee-bong
Seo-hie Ko .... Officer Kwon Kwi-ok
No-shik Park .... Baek, Kwang-ho
Hae-il Park .... Park, Hyeon-gyu
Jong-ryol Choi .... Du-man's father

At a recent Film Festival I saw one of the most entertaining monster movies, The Host by director Joon-ho Bong. The filmmaker managed to put his own unique stamp on the monster movie genre in what some may call a reinvention. It seems that Bong manages to reinvent each time he helms a project and that's exactly what he managed to do in 2003 with Memories of Murder, a serial killer film that focuses on the detective tracking the killer. The film is very different from the standard Hollywood fare in the sense that it's not a visually arresting mood piece (at least in the Hollywood sense, this film takes on a very different feel) but instead a character piece.

South Korea, the year is 1986. The body of a young woman is found stuffed in a storm drain. She has been raped, strangled and tied up. A rural cop, Detective Park (Kang-ho Song), is on the case with a special Detective brought in from the city, Detective Seo (Sang-Kyung Kim), to help with the investigation as more girls are found dead. Each of the victims share common attributes; they were all killed on rainy nights, each night a specific song was played on the radio during the time of the murders, they were all raped and strangled with their underwear, and all the girls wore red. The detectives use all available means to find this killer before he strikes again but they are continually out of luck until the search becomes a desperate race that takes them to odds end. Equally frustrating to Detective Park is his clash with the city Detective Seo, while Park beats confessions out of local men, Seo digs deeper to find clues as to who the real killer is.

The film is based on true events the first serial killer case in South Korea's history, and the filmmakers took an unsparing approach to portraying the incompetence of the police force. It's a harsh criticism on Korean police brutality and the underhanded methods used to get quick convictions to satisfy bureaucratic levels. It's also an in-depth character study, the study of survival especially with Park; he has to contend with a new city hot shot but also to please his bosses and solve the crime and the limits he'll push in order to see that accomplished, regardless of whether the person convicted actually committed the crime.

Bong also paints a clear picture of the tension the town must have felt during that time, his slow-build establishing shots create an uneasy feeling with the viewer, considering we know that at some point another girl will end up dead.

Memories of Murder is an unconventional serial killer film that is a rewarding viewing experience. I was especially surprised at the film's un-Hollywood ending which may leave some viewers unsatisfied. I however enjoyed the sense of realism and unglamorous approach the film's conclusion took, considering it's true to the actual events.

Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here.

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