Memories Of Murder review [LKFF 2015]: “One of the greatest films of the last 15 years.”

Memories Of Murder review: It mixes comedy, terror, social commentary, memorable characters, along with a sense of dread and powerlessness without becoming depressing or vile.

Out of all the films released in the last 15 years, whenever I think about which ones are an absolute must see and should be recommended to all, one film always springs to mind; Bong Joon Ho’s 2003 masterpiece Memories Of Murder. The South Korean true life thriller managed to define the Korean new-wave in the early 00s, along with other such classics as Oldboy and A Tale Of Two Sisters. It mixes comedy, terror, social commentary, memorable characters, along with a sense of dread and powerlessness without becoming depressing or vile.

Set in the 1980s, the film charts the police investigation into South Korea’s first documented serial killer. This is the first strand of interest for western audiences, given that countries such as USA and the UK have countless numbers of serial killers charting back hundreds of years. This also allows this police procedural to have an entirely different flavour to the extensive number of Hollywood efforts. The police aren’t exactly trained for such a case, and moments of comedy quickly give way to frustration as evidence is tampered or lost, and confessions are beaten out of unsuspecting quirky members of society.

Leading the investigation is Detective Park (Song Kang Ho), an old school detective who can beat confessions out of any suspects. He also believes he has a psychic eye, but does try his best to preserve crime scenes. Joining him is a new age cop from Seoul, Detective Seo (Kim Sang Kyung), who has much more contemporary ideas, but lacks the resources to correctly carry out the investigation. These two share fantastic chemistry throughout, often disagreeing with one another, but still showing signs of respect. There’s also a lot of growth and it is always interesting to see the script flirt with the notion that the detectives soon begin to see things from the other’s perspective.

The film is littered with unforgettable scenes and moments of sheer genius. Bong’s masterful craftsmanship gradually builds up the killer’s personality and triggers, telling us he attacks women in red on rainy days after a certain song has been played on the radio. As soon as the next rain hits we’re sent into a spiral of fear, which culminates into a dark and creepy scene that is more reliant on psychological nuances and the audiences participation than it is jump scares and musical cues.

The score is still a strong piece of work though, as is the sublime cinematography. The mixture of Japanese composer Taro Iwashiro‘s music and Kim Hyung Ku‘s visuals is the perfect pairing. It makes the rural town of Hwaseong dark and dreary, yet soulful and beautiful. Whether at night or during the day, we never feel safe or at ease. This also goes for locations, as the police station feels just as threatening as anywhere the killer has struck.

Memories Of Murder has it all. A tight script with engaging revelations, phenomenal performances, fleshed out characters, dark humour, chilling moments of horror, emotive music, and sumptuous visuals. Since the statute of limitations for the case has now been reached (meaning that since 2006 the killer can no longer be tried) the film has still lost none of its power. It’s a shocking tale of uncertainty with a purposefully frustrating lack of answers. One of the greatest films of the last 15 years that absolutely everyone needs to experience.

Memories Of Murder review by Luke Ryan Baldock, October, 2015.

Memories Of Murder screens at the London Korean Film Festival on 7th November as part of the 20 Years Of CJ Entertainment strand.