Memories of Murder (2003)

In 1986, in the province of Gyunggi, in South Korea, a second young and beautiful woman is found dead, raped and tied and gagged with her underwear. Detective Park Doo-Man and Detective Cho... See full summary »

Director:

Joon-ho Bong (as Joon Ho Bong)

Writers:

Joon-ho Bong (as Joon Ho Bong), Kwang-rim Kim (play)

Stars:

Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim

Top Rated Movies #214 | 13 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kang-ho Song	...	Detective Park Doo-man
Sang-kyung Kim	...	Detective Seo Tae-yoon
Roe-ha Kim	...	Detective Cho Yong-koo
Jae-ho Song	...	Sergeant Shin Dong-chul
Hie-bong Byeon	...	Sergeant Koo Hee-bong
Seo-hie Ko	...	Officer Kwon Kwi-ok
No-shik Park	...	Baek Kwang-ho
Hae-il Park	...	Park Hyeon-gyu
Mi-seon Jeon	...	Kwok Seol-yung
Young-hwa Seo	...	Eon Deok-nyeo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bong-gi Baek	...	Cop Dressed as Woman
Hyeon-gi Choi	...	Farmer
Jong-ryol Choi	...	Doo-man's Father
In-seon Jeong	...	Girl in Ending Scene
Deok-jae Jo	...	Investigator

Storyline

In 1986, in the province of Gyunggi, in South Korea, a second young and beautiful woman is found dead, raped and tied and gagged with her underwear. Detective Park Doo-Man and Detective Cho Yong-koo, two brutal and stupid local detectives without any technique, investigate the murder using brutality and torturing the suspects, without any practical result. The Detective Seo Tae-Yoon from Seoul comes to the country to help the investigations and is convinced that a serial-killer is killing the women. When a third woman is found dead in the same "modus-operandi", the detectives find leads of the assassin.

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Plot Keywords:

south korea | murder | serial killer | fear | true crime | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [South Korea]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English

Release Date:

23 June 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Memories of Murder

Box Office

Budget:

$2,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$46,380 (Hong Kong) (5 March 2004)

Gross:

$14,131 (USA) (29 July 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, Muhan Investment, Sidus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min 129 min 127 min (Filmfest Hamburg)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite the film being based on a series of real murders in the Korean provincial town of Hwaeseong during the 1980s, Joon-ho Bong also drew a lot inspiration from a play called 'Come See Me' which dramatized the incidents, to the extent that he stated in an interview: "If it weren't for KIM Gwang-rim's play [Come See Me], I would have had a lot of problems establishing the structure." While he also gained the idea for the depiction of the era from the graphic novel 'From Hell' by the writer Alan Moore, which was given to Bong by the journalist Tony Rayns as a gift.

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Goofs

When Detective Seo Tae-Yoon's gun is tossed away from his hands by Park Hyeon-gyu, the gun is seen landing to the left of the train tracks from the camera's point of view. Moments later, when the detective returns to pick it up, the gun is seen lying on the train tracks itself.

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Quotes

Detective Park Doo-Man: Once this dries, the stain will form the shape of the murderer's face.

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Connections

Featured in Anasuya (2007)

User Reviews

nothing prepares me for this masterpiece

I read a review about this movie and am aware what business it made in Korea, but nothing (I mean NOTHING) prepares me for this great work. With the exception of, perhaps, SE7EN, serial-killer movie has never been this good. The story (about real-life killings of 10 women in Korea during the 1986-1991) is compelling enough, but the actors (Song Kang-ho cuts you deep even when he's silent, and his big-city partner offers emotional jolts at the end), the director (effectively plays some scenes in docu-style approach), the cinematography (a shadow creeps out in the paddy field will give you, well, creeps. big one.), and the music (haunting) are welcome bonuses.

One scene that impresses me most is the crime-scene midnight chase between a suspect, 2 local detectives, and a big-city detective (who doesn't know his local partners are there watching him). Humorously intense, or intensely humorous, whichever serves you well.

The only regret is I saw this one on DVD, while I believe a movie this big (in many senses) deserves to be seen in theaters. Korean movies rarely touch Indonesian theaters.

**** out of ****

Try to listen the song SAD LETTER in this movie and tell me it's not haunting you. A magnum opus.