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Memories of Murder (2003)

Memories of Murder (2003)
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Memories of Murder is a policier based on the actual case of the first recorded serial killer in Korea's history. The rape murders began in 1986 in Hwaseong, a small village south of Seoul, and continued for several years during a time of political upheaval in South Korea. Detective Park Doo-man (Song Kang-ho of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), an overconfident local cop, is assigned to the case, taking along his partner, Detective Cho Yong-koo (Kim Rwe-ha), whose interrogation methods involve covering his boot with a cloth so it won't leave scratches on detainees' necks. After the first few murders, they quickly narrow their sights on a suspect (Park Noh-shik). Seo Tae-yoon (Kim Sang-kyung of Turning Gate), a young detective from Seoul, volunteers to work on the case. Park resents his presence, but Seo quickly realizes that the locals have the wrong man. Before he can share his ideas, the department is humiliated, and the police chief is replaced. Seo quietly begins to piece together a pattern to the murders. For one thing, they all took place in the rain, and the victims all wore red. But the murderer seems to be one step ahead of the cops. Working independently (they disdain each other's methods), Park and Seo stumble upon another suspect, and the two local cops work on beating a confession out of him. But it's soon clear that they've arrested the wrong man yet again. They become more desperate, and the case begins to take a devastating toll on the policemen's lives. Memories of Murder, directed by Bong Joon-ho from a script by Bong, Kim Kwang-rim, and Shim Sung-bo, was a huge box-office hit in South Korea. The film won several awards at the 2003 San Sebastián Film Festival and was also shown at the 2004 New York Korean Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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Starring:
Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, (more)
Director(s):
Bong Joon-ho
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of Memories of Murder

Memories of Murder is a policier based on the actual case of the first recorded serial killer in Korea's history. The rape murders began in 1986 in Hwaseong, a small village south of Seoul, and continued for several years during a time of political upheaval in South Korea. Detective Park Doo-man (Song Kang-ho of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), an overconfident local cop, is assigned to the case, taking along his partner, Detective Cho Yong-koo (Kim Rwe-ha), whose interrogation methods involve covering his boot with a cloth so it won't leave scratches on detainees' necks. After the first few murders, they quickly narrow their sights on a suspect (Park Noh-shik). Seo Tae-yoon (Kim Sang-kyung of Turning Gate), a young detective from Seoul, volunteers to work on the case. Park resents his presence, but Seo quickly realizes that the locals have the wrong man. Before he can share his ideas, the department is humiliated, and the police chief is replaced. Seo quietly begins to piece together a pattern to the murders. For one thing, they all took place in the rain, and the victims all wore red. But the murderer seems to be one step ahead of the cops. Working independently (they disdain each other's methods), Park and Seo stumble upon another suspect, and the two local cops work on beating a confession out of him. But it's soon clear that they've arrested the wrong man yet again. They become more desperate, and the case begins to take a devastating toll on the policemen's lives. Memories of Murder, directed by Bong Joon-ho from a script by Bong, Kim Kwang-rim, and Shim Sung-bo, was a huge box-office hit in South Korea. The film won several awards at the 2003 San Sebastián Film Festival and was also shown at the 2004 New York Korean Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
132 mins

Complete Cast of Memories of Murder


Director(s):
Bong Joon-ho
Writer(s):
Shim Seong-bo, Bong Joon-ho
Producer(s):
Cha Seung-chae, Romeo Noh
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    James V.

    As a rule, I don't like "serial killer" movies and yet I recommend MEMORIES OF MURDER most highly. If you're a "normal" serial killer film fan (and, yes, I would include "Silence of the Lambs" in that genre), you may want to avoid this one because it does things and goes places that are surprising and disturbing in unusual ways. Korean films have the reputation of changing their mood on a dime--provoking shock, laughter, sadness and back again within the same scene. That happens here, but even more unusual I think, is the way this film get under your skin, just as the situation gets under the skin of the film's protagonists--four detectives (two small town hicks, one city boy and their boss) who try to solve the case. Their methods (especially those of the hicks) are horrendous--torture, false confessions--and yet slowly you understand that their hearts are in the right place--for all this good it does anyone. This is definitely worth a rent.

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    Melissa B.

    This is an unusual film in that, for one, its central mystery is never solved, and that so much seems to be deduced about the killer that the viewer begins to suspect everyone including the two detectives who have different management styles and temperaments. The quiet perceptive Seo adopts the same attitude as jos colleague toward one of the suspects and almost kills him. The toll taken on the detectives' lives is well drawn. The details presented, hints from music, a surviving victim who did not look at her attacker draw the viewer in to the ever- tightening noose the law is preparing. I was curious at the ending; the local detective returns years later to the scene of one of the murders, where a little girl tells him a man has just been there. Could the detective have learned more about the man? Or maybe after the torment of this case, he didn't want to.

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    Eric L.

    Fantastic thriller, very well filmed and performed, just excellent. It also has some really great humor as well. Best to not watch dubbed as it can ruin the superb acting but I know some of you can't stand the subtitles, so if you must.

    Yes   |   No

     
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