Memories of Murder (2003)

In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.

Director:

Bong Joon Ho

Writers:

Bong Joon Ho, Kwang-rim Kim (play)

Stars:

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

Top Rated Movies #175 | 31 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kang-ho Song	...	Detective Park Doo-man
Kim Sang-kyung	...	Detective Seo Tae-yoon
Roe-ha Kim	...	Detective Cho Yong-koo
Jae-ho Song	...	Sergeant Shin Dong-chul
Byun Hee-Bong	...	Sergeant Koo Hee-bong (as Hie-bong Byeon)
Seo-hie Ko	...	Officer Kwon Kwi-ok
Tae-ho Ryu	...	Jo Byeong-soon
No-shik Park	...	Baek Gwang-ho
Park Hae-il	...	Park Hyeon-gyu
Mi-seon Jeon	...	Kwok Seol-yung
Young-hwa Seo	...	Eon Deok-nyeo
Woo Go-na	...	Kim So-hyeon
Ok-joo Lee	...	Oh Nam-joo
Jong-ryol Choi	...	Gwang-ho's father
Seung-mok Yoo	...	Journalist

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:

neo noir | serial killer | based on true story | 1980s | anti hero | 

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Taglines:

1986 in a small town...for two detectives, everything was new.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Kang-ho Song and director Bong Joon Ho's first collaboration.

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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: Fuck, I don't know.

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Alternate Versions

The British DVD by Optimum Releasing has 5 minutes cut omitting the whole part of the film between the release of the last suspect and Detective Seo Tae-Yoon shadowing him. Therefore important scenes for the development of the story are missing, such as when the detectives are informed about the possibility of a DNA analysis of sperm found on one of the victim's clothes and that the sample has to be sent abroad because the required equipment is not in Korea. Also missing is the sequence where Detective Cho Yong-koo loses his leg and a scene with Kwok Seol-yung asking Detective Park Doo-Man to quit the police.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Kristen Wiig/Paul Dano/Macklemore feat. Skylar Grey (2017)

User Reviews

Great serial killer drama

I'm one of those people who tend to think that South Korean movies are perhaps a bit too slow-paced for my taste. Memories of Murder isn't a fast-paced film, by any means, but this time the slow pace made this movie about an investigation of serial killings so much better than 95% of its American counterparts.

Essentially, Memories of Murder is a drama first with thriller and comedy elements (yes, in the first hour or so the movie is actually quite funny). Kang-ho Song and Sang-kyung Kim are brilliant as the two cops who have drastically different views on how to solve a crime. The character development is fascinating and believable thanks to a great script.

Highly recommended.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English

Release Date:

2 May 2003 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Memories of Murder

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$2,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,487, 17 July 2005

Gross USA:

$15,357

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,162,593

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