None of the characters in Memories of Murder are particularly likable, but they’ve all been tasked with putting a stop to a greater evil. Line many Joon-ho films, the underlying satire in Memories of Murder comes from prejudices, unconscious mistakes, and outright lies that are told in a bid to save face. Joon-ho’s second feature showcases both successes and failures, but mostly the latter, and therein lies the masterful details that make the story, characters, and performances so compelling. Kim is on the right track, but he doesn’t know anything about his new environments and his methodical approach might be the reason why the killer’s body count continues to grow. Cho is a glory hog and egotist who probably only has a job still because of his partner. Park is lazy enough to take shortcuts and come up with wildly inventive theories. Park, Cho, and Kim all have differing opinions on how the investigation should be carried out, and none of them have the right answers. Kim (Seo Tae-yoon), a younger detective from Seoul with actual homicide experience and American FBI training, is brought in to assist in the investigation, with the big city cop’s more level-headed approach to solving the case runs afoul of a the local force’s desire to wrap things up as quickly as possible.īased on a play by Kim Kwang-rim, Memories of Murder makes its core murder investigation feel appropriately thrilling, chaotic, and hopeless, driven by character who can’t see that they’re their own worst enemies. Compounding Park’s situation is his partner, Cho (Kim Roi-ha), a hothead who isn’t above beating a false confession out of a suspect. Not that it matters, since the local police’s methods of securing crime scenes and collecting evidence proves to be both inadequate and inept. The murders have occurred during a time when access to DNA identifying technology and other forensic methods of detection and identification didn’t exist yet in the country. Now that his most recent film, Parasite, has become the first ever Oscar winner for Best Picture that wasn’t in the English language, the time is right to re-visit the auteur’s first undisputed (and in some ways, underrated) masterpiece, with the help of a gorgeous new restoration.Īfter two bodies of young women who have been raped and murdered are found in a rural irrigation ditch, ill equipped small town detective Park (Joon-ho mainstay Song Kang-ho) begins his investigation. Taking inspiration from a real string of murders that occurred in South Korea from 1986 to 1991 – the country’s first recorded case of a serial killer – Memories of Murder best typifies the sort of darkly comedic, nerve-jangling, and morally sticky narratives that Bong Joon-ho would make from that point onward. Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 crime thriller Memories of Murder is one of the best procedural epics ever made, ranking firmly alongside the likes of David Fincher’s Zodiac and Michael Mann’s Manhunter.
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