In 1986, two female bodies were discovered in the Gyunggi Province. Both had been brutally raped and murdered in similar circumstances. Korean police now faced the first serial killer case in their country. Detective Park Doo-Man is leading the case and with the help of his aggressive partner, they will try to figure out who the potential killers are, but without much success.
However, things change when Seo Tae-Yoon, a member of the Seoul metropolitan police department, volunteers to help the investigation. With his meticulous approach to the case, it won’t take long for Seo Tae-Yoon to come up with strong evidences and clues about the identity of the murderer. But they need to act fast as they think that other murders might occur very soon. Unfortunately, the poor police methods of the time and the unavailability of high technology for blood-identification resulted in a disastrous conclusion for the case.
Based on true events that took place in Korean from 1986 to 1991, Memories of Murder is not your typical serial killer movie. Instead of focusing on the murder scenes and shocking images like most conventional serial killer films, the movie puts much more time and details into the story, the situation of the time and the strong leading characters. These factors all put together by director Bong Joon-Ho resulted in a memorable cinematographic experience.
The background of the story is very well known in South Korea, some people even call it the Korean Jack the Ripper as the case has never been elucidated. During the time of the theatrical release, the movie received a very strong reaction from the population as the movie accurately shows how unfair potential killers were treated at the time and how unprofessionally the police proceeded in tracking the real assassin. There was even pressure from the public to reopen the case but unfortunately the authorities said that there’s not enough evidences left since the case was closed more than 10 years ago.
However, there’s one big question here, since the killer was never arrested in real life, then it means that we already know the ending right? So what’s the point of a serial killer movie if we already know the ending? Well, there might not be a totally unexpected punch line at the end of the film but the great flow of the story, the frustration witnessing the many problems the investigators are facing, the strong characters supported by incredible actors and the very high tension during the murder scenes will keep you hooked all along for sure. This approach is very refreshing, especially if you experienced other recent Korean thriller movies (with very few exceptions of course), which failed due to their weak plot and poor conclusion.
If you are familiar with Korean comedy, I’m sure you’ve heard about Song Kang-Ho. One of the top Korean actors of the moment who also appeared in numerous classic Korean comedies such as The Quiet Family and Foul King, and also in much more serious movies such as Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and J.S.A. Again Song Kang-Ho gives an incredible performance, his character is unlikable but he also brings a bit of humor along with his seriousness. The Seoul cop, played by Kim Sang-Gyeong is also a very interesting character. Very clever and serious, he is the total opposite of his partner. There’s a lot of tension and competition between these two characters as they both use different investigation methods and they both want to prove that they are right.
The thriller aspect is really toned down in this movie, as there are only a few scenes that actually show dead bodies of the victims or when the killer is stalking new prey. The make-up is very realistic but doesn’t appear on screen very often. Don’t expect a pint of blood and gruesome gory stuff here, as you will be very disappointed. The movie was based on a true event and that is probably why the killings are realistic and believable and not over the top gory.
Director Bong Joon-Ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite) did an incredible job at transcending this terrible part of Korean history on the big screen. Even if the editing is simple, but nonetheless effective, the landscape of the countryside is extremely well shot and gives a great artistic look to the movie. Memories of Murder is surely one of the best South-Korean movies made during 2003.With an emotive script and deep characters, the movie is sure to leave its mark on the audience, don’t miss it!
The movie is available in two different packages. First the limited edition, which is probably out of print now, comes in a hard cover box set including the 2 DVD set, 4 post cards and a book with the Director's Storyboard. The box is about the size of 2 DVD boxes, so if fits very well on your DVD shelf. The regular edition, which consists of the same DVD set, has an incredible anamorphic widescreen transfer. The sound is in DD5.1 and a great DTS 6.1. The English subtitles are excellent too. The many extras (without English subs) consist of Audio Commentary, Making of the Film, Still Gallery, Trailer, Real case investigation and an Easter Egg. Korean special editions always impress with their amazing packages, if it was not missing subs on the extras, they would be perfect. If you are a fan of box-sets get the Limited edition at any cost, the Region 1 LOTR box set look’s low quality compared to it. But for those who are only looking to get the movie, the simple 2 DVD set is a great buy