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Memories of Murder [2003]

Reviewed by Matt
Posted on September 3, 2008 
Filed Under Asian movies, Crime, Movies, Serial killers

South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho might be best known internationally for his third feature, 2006’s superb monster epic The Host, but his reputation as one his country’s most interesting film-makers was sealed with his preceding movie, 2003’s crime drama Memories of Murder. Based around a string of unsolved real life murders that took place in South Korea between 1986 and 1991, it’s an absorbing, mesmerising piece of work that reveals a director in complete control of his material.

In many ways, the film shares traits with David Fincher’s Zodiac, released four later. Both follow serial murders that remain unresolved to this day, and this immediately creates a challenge: how do you present a rounded narrative when the story you are telling remains fundamentally unfinished? Both Bong and Fincher tackle this by making the details of the killings secondary to the effects of the investigations on those involved. Memories of Murder tells the story of rural detective Park Doo-man, who is forced to work with Seoul detective Seo Tae-yoon in solving the murders of local woman who are found raped and murdered near a field on rainy nights.

What impressed me most about The Host was its humanity, and this is even more true of Memories of Murder. Culture-clash detective stories are nothing new, but Bong’s dazzling characterisation really brings to life the awkward partnership of Park and Seo. Most impressive is the way he uses humour in unlikely circumstances to bring an extra layer of empathy to the characters; there’s nothing particularly funny about either the killings themselves or the brutal ways in which Park and his colleagues try to pin them on a string of “best fit” local weirdos (which will feel particularly resonant for UK viewers following recent acquittal of Barry George), but the exasperated desperation of the police is bravely played partly for laughs, as they scrabble around without leads, resources or procedure. In particular, the opening sequence at the scene of the crime is hilarious, as Park attempts to co-ordinate the investigation amidst chaos that borders on slapstick. Bong’s use of comedy strikes just the right tone; it’s irreverent without ever feeling tasteless or gratuitous, and humanises a cast of characters that might otherwise be simply inept or even thuggish.

Amidst the laughs, though, is a very trenchant look at the effect an unresolved crime can have on those tasked with delivering justice. Park and Seo are both changed across the course of the film by their involvement with the case and with each other. Park’s development is the more positive of the two, learning to respect the thorough practices and deductive techniques of his more urbane partner; an epilogue, set more than a decade later, shows him to be older and wiser in a nice modulation of Song Kang-Ho’s outstanding performance. Seo, on the other hand, reverts to brutality when his urban instincts fail to solve the crime; the sequence where he beats a promising but inconclusive suspect by a railway tunnel is particularly chilling. But what pervades the film most is a sense of isolation, that these are two men who have nowhere else to turn in order to stop the murderer from killing again. As with The Host, there’s an implicit criticism of the South Korean government here, made clear in the scene where Park and Seo appeal for backup only to be told that everyone’s busy suppressing a demonstration. And although the magnitude of the murders is clear, Bong remains tight in his focus, giving little indication of how the rest of the country is responding (Seoul feels like it might as well be on another continent) and thereby increasing the burden placed on the two detectives.

Unlike Fincher, Bong presents suspects but never points the finger or presents his own theories as to who the real killer is; as a result, the movie offers less closure to the viewer than Zodiac. The ending is understated but completely devastating, bringing Park full circle (literally) and leaving him a changed man, in some ways bettered but in other ways scarred by his involvement. By dint of its subject matter the film offers more questions than it answers, but such is Bong’s skill that it feels both complete and infuriatingly open in equal measure. Memories of Murder is an incredible film that lingers in the mind long after the credits have finished, a confident and assured statement from a directing talent on the rise.

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