Memories of Murder (2003)
"Salinui chueok" (original title)

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

Writers:

Joon-ho Bong, Kwang-rim Kim,

Stars:

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

Top 250 #219 | 14 wins & 2 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
Jong-ryol Choi	...	Du-man's father
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mi-seon Jeon	...	Kwok Seol-yung
In-seon Jeong
Ha-kyeong Kim
Jae-eung Lee
Young-hwa Seo
Ji-ru Sung

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | south korea | serial killer | mental retardation | serial murder | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [South Korea]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English

Release Date:

2 May 2003 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Memories of Murder

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,487 (USA) (15 July 2005)

Gross:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, Muhan Investment, Sidus Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 129 min 127 min (Filmfest Hamburg)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joon-ho Bong has stated that the script for Memories of Murder was directly influenced by Alan Moore's comic book From Hell, and that he was also "a bit disappointed with the Hughes brothers' film of it."

---

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.

---

Quotes

Detective Cho Yong-koo: I only beat you up because I care about you.

---

Connections

Referenced in Biyeolhan geori (2006)

User Reviews

The Slow Development of a Masterpiece

This is probably the best crime thriller I've seen since "Insomnia," and contains the most haunting climax of any serial killer flick since "Seven." But like most films reaching for greatness, this is most admirable for its striking details.

The filmmakers here craft a taut, careful, and delicately strung together motion picture that relishes in its amazing development of mood, place, and character.

First, the mood: Haunting cinematography (rain falling on a small village at night, shadows darting across a thick field of grass, figures lurking in the woods, a masterfully choreographed hot pursuit scene on foot), a poignant music score (aided by the creepy use of a Korean pop song that accompanies each murder), and no-nonsense direction (peppered with fabulous doses of comic relief--how Shakespearan!) keep the film more and more intriguing at each turn and fascinating to watch.

Second, the place: South Korea, circa the late 1980's, and apparently under some sort of militia rule. This is inspired by the true story of Korea's first publicized (and still unsolved) serial killer case. This unique time and place serves as a wonderful respite from the typical American big-city setting of so many other films of this ilk.

Finally, the character development: The small details revealing the haunted souls of the detectives on the case is nothing short of brilliant. Witness the tiny executions of minutae: The cloth one rogue cop wraps around his boot so as not to leave scars when he kick-boxes suspects into submission, the harried chief of police checking his own blood pressure while trying to keep his off-the-cuff detectives in line or fighting to keep headline-starved reporters at bay, the young female officer desperately trying to showcase her abilities in crime solving between serving the chauvinistic detectives cups of fresh coffee, the outsider detective from Seoul's insistence that documents never lie (and the brutal irony at the climax that challenges his entire sense of being), and the main village detective's scathing speech on the difference between American FBI agents and Koren policemen. The beauty is in the details, and this film, like all the great ones, revels in their uncovering.

One flaw is that some might find the film a bit long in the tooth, but this is not to be missed for fans of serial killer thrillers and police procedural movies. For the Korean filmmakers, and the amazing cast...this is their master stroke.