Memories of Murder is a crime drama with real weight and texture, but balanced expertly with a darkly comedic streak.
#Memories of a murderer serial#
The approach and pshcye of the serial killer even more so, but like its spiritual cousins, Silence of the Lambs, Zodiac, and Mindhunters, you feel an urge to know more and try to understand why this person is doing this. Largely by showcasing their fallibility, and also their fears and frustrations as they begin to realize their natural approach and instincts are failing them, and they are powerless to stop this twisted person. Through his script, and their performances, they humanize these men that are at times eminently unlikable. It also further explains the lack of local manpower for this case, as law officials are drawn away to deal with civil unrest.ĭespite this layered commentary, and the engrossing mystery behind the killings and their perturbing aspects, Bong maintains a focus on the characters. The unrest in this small village pales in comparison to the more urban areas, but it underscores how this is a time of change. A time when South Korea underwent a political and social transition. Bong smartly juxtaposes this murder mystery aspect, and the conflicting approaches of the old guard (Park) and the new (Suh), against the era in which it unfolds. Ten women murdered over five years, in a case that remained unsolved until just a few years ago. The film is inspired by the real-life 1980s activities of a serial killer in Hwaseong, South Korea. Internal strife is mirrored as local community frustrations boil over, as it becomes apparent this trio, and the police force in general, are ill-equipped, to solve this case and end the murderous spree. A clash of styles and personalities ensues, and the killings not only increase in number, but evidence starts to suggest a ritualistic aspect to the crimes. Added to their number is Detective Suh (Kim Sang-Kyung, Tale of Cinema), a believer in methodology and documentation, brought in from Seoul to assist the investigation. Detective Park (Song Kang-Ho, Parasite), a man who relies on his instinct to judge people and solve cases, along with his partner, the physically brutal Cho Yong-koo (Kim Roi-ha), are assigned to the case. Memories of Murder begins in 1986, with the discovery of a young woman’s body in a ditch on the outskirts of the rural village of Hwaseong. Combining a gripping procedural with a vivid social portrait of the everyday absurdity of life under military rule, Bong fashions a haunting journey into ever-deepening darkness that begins as a black-comic satire and ends as a soul-shattering encounter with the abyss. Based on the true story of a string of serial killings that rocked a rural community in the 1980s, Memories of Murder stars New Korean Cinema icon Song Kang Ho as the local officer who reluctantly joins forces with a seasoned Seoul detective (Kim Sang Kyung) to investigate the crimes - leading each man on a wrenching, years long odyssey of failure and frustration that will drive him to the existential edge.
In his breakthrough second feature, Bong Joon Ho explodes the conventions of the policier with thrillingly subversive, genre-defying results. Studios and distributors graciously indulged, with his second feature Memories of Murder garnering the most attention, seeing a re-release by Neon, and addition to the Criterion Collection. As expected, his win opened up a new audience, who leaped over the “ one inch-tall barrier of subtitles”to seek out his earlier work.
To the # BongHive, it was both deserved and unsurprising, a collective that had long appreciated the auteur’s output over two decades prior to Parasite.
Just over a year ago, Bong Joon-ho celebrated at the Oscars, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.
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