Memories of Murder [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Joon-ho Bong Joon-ho Bong

Overview

"Memories of Murder is a police procedural based on the actual case of the first recorded serial killer in Korea's history. The murders began in 1986 in Hwaseong, a small village south of Seoul, and continued for several years during a time of political upheaval in South Korea. Detective Park Doo-man (Song Kang-ho of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), an overconfident local cop, is assigned to the case, taking along his partner, Detective Cho Yong-koo (Kim Rwe-ha), whose interrogation methods involve covering his boot with a cloth so it won't leave scratches on detainees' necks. As the pair set their sights on a suspect (Park Noh-shik), they are joined in their investigation by Seo Tae-yoon (Kim Sang-kyung of Turning Gate), a young detective from Seoul who volunteers to work on the case. Park resents his presence, but Seo quickly realizes that the duo have the wrong man. As the police department endures a scandal and the hunt for the killer leads to several dead ends, the detectives become more desperate and the case begins to take a devastating toll on their lives. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, Memories of Murder was a huge box-office hit in South Korea. The film won several awards at the 2003 San Sebastián Film Festival, and was also shown at the 2004 New York Korean Film Festival."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/20/2021
UPC:	0715515257718
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	2:11:00
Sales rank:	2,496

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kang-ho Song	Detective Park,Sergeant Shin
Sang-kyung Kim	Detective Seo,Detective Cho
Hie-bong Byeon	Sergeant Koo
Seo-hie Ko	Officer Kwon
No-shik Park	Baek,Park
Jong-ryol Choi	Du-man's Father
Tae-ho Ryu	Jo Byeong-soon
Mi-seon Jeon	Kwok Seol-yung
Young-hwa Seo	Eon Deok-nyeo
Yoo Seung-mok	Journalist
Jae-eung Lee	Boy in Opening Scene,Forensic Investigator
In-sun Jung	Girl in Ending Scene
Kim Sang-kyung	Detective Seo Tae-yoon
Kim Roe-ha	Actor
Song Jae-ho	Sgt. Shin Dong-chul
Ko Seo-hie	Actor
Song Kang-ho	Detective Park Doo-man
Kim Rwe-ha	Detective Cho Yong-koo
Ryu Tae-ho	Jo Byeong-sun
Park Noh-shik	Baek Gwang-ho
Tarô Iwashiro	Composer,Composer

Technical Credits

Joon-ho Bong

Kwang-rim Kim

Sung Bo Shim

Shim Seong-bo

Joon-ho Bong	Director,Screenwriter
Kwang-rim Kim	Screenwriter
Sung Bo Shim	Screenwriter
Seoung-Jae Cha	Producer
Kang-bok Lee	Executive Producer
Romeo Noh	Producer
Lee Kang-beok	Executive Producer
Shim Seong-bo	Screenwriter
Cha Seung-chae	Producer
Lee Byeong-ha	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder is a truly stunning work, and merits mention alongside Silence of the Lambs and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer as an effective serial killer film that transcends the genre to offer an incisive analysis of the culture that produced the crime. Set during a period of social unrest and subsequent crackdown under the military dictatorship that ruled South Korea during the late '80s, the film offers the thrills and chills typical of a good policier (the gunshot-like musical cues that kick off several action sequences are one demonstration of the filmmakers' expert handling of the tension-release dynamics of the genre), along with wonderful performances, particularly that of star Song Kang-ho. Song's rich turn as Park, a small-town cop in way over his head, reaches a comic peak in the bathhouse scene, wherein Park misguidedly looks for a hairless male suspect. But underlying the dark humor of the Keystone Kops-like cycle of bungling and beatings is a scathing satire of brutal police procedures and the repressive culture that fostered them. As accomplished a drama it is --simultaneously frightening, disturbing, funny, and deeply moving --Bong's film really distinguishes itself as a sardonic political allegory of governmental brutality and corruption, which engulfs even the best and brightest who labor within its structure. Bong cunningly gets at how repression allows sociopathic behavior to thrive. The lasting impact of all this violence isn't made fully clear until the film's haunting final exchange. Memories of Murder is a powerful work.