The year is 1986 and in a small town in South Korea, a woman turns up raped and murdered. This film tells the true story of South Korea’s first serial killer, a mutilating psycho who spreads his malice on ten women over the course of six years, the murders all taking place within a two-mile radius.
A fabulous sophomore effort from Joon-ho Bong, ‘Memories of Murder’ is a serial killer/police procedural film, but it is quite different from The Silence of the Lambs, Seven or South Korea’s own popular previous effort Tell Me Something. Memories of Murder is a low-key, methodical examination of horrible events.
The film is also not without humor. It walks that fine line between dark humor and sustained tension, and keeps both these elements in harmony. The film focuses on two rural police detectives, the impulsive Park (Kang-Ho Sang who Korean film enthusiasts will recognize from Chan-Wook Park’s magnificent films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) and his aggressive partner Cho (Roe-Ha Kim from Save the Green Planet!) who find themselves immediately stumped by the murder of a girl left in the ditch. Their usual techniques of police brutality through incessant interrogation and beatings lead them nowhere. In rural South Korea at that time, there was no profiling, forensics or DNA testing, detectives had to rely on their instincts, persistence, and sometimes their fists.
With the investigation quickly leading nowhere, a detective from Seoul is sent for, much to the chagrin of Park and Cho who become defensive and frustrated. Detective Seo (Sang-kyung Kim) barely arrives into town and through mistaken identity finds himself getting beat down by Park - a shaky start to an already shaky relationship. As the cool, collected Seo quietly disapproves of Park and Cho’s penchant for brutality to get confessions, the murders continue. Seo applies more reason and method to his approach to counteract the rural detective’s more violent-prone approach. Leads come and go, neither approach proving to be successful.
Finally, a suspect is found that might actually prove to be the one. As the detectives are waiting on DNA testing results which had to be sent to America, the murderer strikes again and frustrations become intolerable.
To delve more deeply into the plot would be to take the edge off a finely-tuned, expertly written screenplay. While the plot may sound like nothing new (I’m sure CSI viewers feel like they can get this for free every week) the film is full of the type of small details that can make a film feel refreshing and unique. Certainly, the time period and culture of this crime flick will feel unique to Americans - as I found South Korea’s almost cavalier methods of police brutality quite the surprise as well as their reluctance to embrace modern police investigation methods through technology. Having to send a DNA test to America seems like it might slow down the investigation just a bit…not to mention cost lives.
The acting by our three main leads is all top-notch, with Kang-Ho Sang really standing out for me. He is fast becoming one of my favorite actors worldwide, after his great turns in Joint Security Area and the two above films I mentioned; I can’t wait to see what he does next which just happens to be Joon-ho Bong’s next highly anticipated film ‘The Host.’
The gorgeous cinematography by Kim Hyung-Gu is moody, haunting and atmospheric with rice paddy fields, rain, shadows, train tracks all being photographed with an expert eye. The cinematography is complimented with an equally enchanting score by Iwashiro Taro who comes up with some great themes and perfectly sets the mood for every scene. This film is a great example of the success a picture can have when the right cast and crew amalgam has been concocted.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen and is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. A 5.1 English dub and 2.0 stereo dub is provided along with the original Korean audio track in 2.0. The special features consist of eight deleted scenes, a 36-minute interviews/behind the scenes featurette which consist of the subtitled thoughts and anecdotes of the cast and crew, some web links and previews for other Palm Pictures releases.
While Palm Pictures did a decent job with this DVD, I do feel like making some disappointing observations. There is a Region 1 NTSC Korean disc (from CJ Entertainment) which features an anamorphic transfer, Korean 6.1 DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks along with more special features. This disc has a 5.1 track but it is the atrocious English dub version with the original Korean audio getting delegated with a simple 2.0 track. This is disappointing but not a deal breaker. The Palm Pictures release is certainly serviceable and much more convenient.
If you are fan of South Korean cinema or the police procedural or serial killer genres, I whole-heartedly recommend this picture. While the film moves slowly, it’s always with purpose and intriguing throughout, it might not have the nasty, horror thrills and flash of American films like Seven, but it’s a true-crime story told with wisdom, humor, sincerity and intensity.
Memories of Murder is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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