Memories of Murder
Encyclopedia
Memories of Murder is a 2003 South Korea
n crime
-drama film
directed by Bong Joon-ho
. It is based on the true story of the country's first known serial murder
s, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong
, Gyeonggi Province
. Song Kang-ho
and Kim Sang-kyung star as Detective Park and Detective Seo, two of the detectives trying to solve the crimes.
The film was the second feature film directed by Bong Joon-ho
, following his 2000 debut film Barking Dogs Never Bite
. The screenplay
was adapted by Bong and Shim Sung-bo from Kim Kwang-rim's 1996 stage play
about the same subject. The film's cinematography
, as well as Song Kang-ho
's performance, earned it wide praise.
d and murdered in a ditch near a field. Soon after, another woman is found raped and murdered in a field. Local detective Park Doo-man, not having dealt with such a serious case before, is overwhelmed; key evidence
is improperly collected, the police's investigative methods are suspect, and their forensic technology is near non-existent. Detective Seo Tae-yoon is sent from Seoul
to assist them; their methods clash and he is unable to convince them they are dealing with a serial killer until his predictions of another murder come true. He realizes that the killer waits until a rainy night, and only kills women wearing red. A female police officer realizes that a local radio station is always requested to play a particular song during the nights the murders are committed.
While Seo investigates and tries to piece together the clues, Park and his men beat confessions out of a local man found masturbating
at the scene of one crime, and a scarred mentally handicapped
boy whom they threaten to kill, going so far as to make him dig his own grave. Seo clears both of those suspects and follows a trail of clues to a handsome factory worker who had only moved to the area a short time before the first murder. The detectives are unable to pin anything on him; when they realize that the handicapped boy witnessed one of the crimes and try to speak to him, they frighten him so badly that he runs in front of an oncoming train and is killed.
Finally, when yet another murder is committed and DNA evidence
sent for processing in the United States comes back inconclusive, Seo's frustrations flow over and he snaps. He flies into a rage and roughs up the factory worker; only Park stops Seo from shooting the suspect.
In the end, the crimes remain unsolved. Visiting the crime scene years later in 2003, Park Doo-man, now a businessman, learns from a little girl that the scene had recently been visited by another, unknown man with a 'plain' face.
By the end of the film's domestic run it had been seen by 5,101,645 people, making it the most watched film during the year 2003 in South Korea. While it was eventually outgained by Silmido
, which was released in the same year, most of Silmidos audience did not see it until 2004. At the end of the film's run, Memories of Murder was also the fourth most viewed film ever in the country, after Shiri
, Friend and Joint Security Area
. The commercial success of the film has been credited as saving one of its production companies, Sidus Pictures, from bankruptcy
.
Memories of Murder received screenings at several international film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival
, Hawaii International Film Festival
, London International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival
and San Sebastian International Film Festival
, where Bong Joon-ho won the Best Director Award.
Director Quentin Tarantino named it, along with Bong's The Host
, as one of his Top 20 favorite movies since 1992.
Some of the details of the murders, such as the killer gagging the women with their underwear, were also taken from the case. As in the film, the investigators found bodily fluids suspected to belong to the murderer in the crime scenes, but did not have access to equipment to determine whether the DNA matched with the suspects until late in the investigations. After the ninth murder, DNA evidence was sent to Japan
(unlike the film, where it was sent to America) for analysis, but the results did not correspond with the suspects.
As in the film, the actual murderer has not been caught. As the case grows closer to reaching the statute of limitations
, South Korea's leading Uri Party
has sought to amend the law to give the prosecutors more time to find the murderer.
Also, the DNA report that tests the suspect's semen with that found on the body is signed by Clarence M. Kelly. Clarence Kelly was a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Cinema of Korea
Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, from the late Joseon dynasty to the Korean War to domestic governmental interference...
n crime
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
-drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in Daegu in 1969 and decided to become a filmmaker while in middle school, perhaps influenced by an artistic family He majored in sociology in Yonsei University in the late 1980s and was a member of the film club...
. It is based on the true story of the country's first known serial murder
Hwaseong serial murders
The Hwaseong serial murders were a series of unsolved serial murders that occurred in the South Korean city of Hwaseong between 1986 and 1991. Ten women were found bound, raped, and murdered. The murders are considered to be the most infamous in the modern history of South Korea. The Korean film...
s, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong
Hwaseong City
Hwaseong is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It has the largest area of farmland of any city or county in Gyeonggi province. Seoul Subway Line 1 passes through Hwaseong, stopping at Byeongjeom Station. Famous people from Hwaseong include soccer player Cha Bum-Kun.-Climate:Hwaseong city...
, Gyeonggi Province
Gyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...
. Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
and Kim Sang-kyung star as Detective Park and Detective Seo, two of the detectives trying to solve the crimes.
The film was the second feature film directed by Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born in Daegu in 1969 and decided to become a filmmaker while in middle school, perhaps influenced by an artistic family He majored in sociology in Yonsei University in the late 1980s and was a member of the film club...
, following his 2000 debut film Barking Dogs Never Bite
Barking Dogs Never Bite
Barking Dogs Never Bite is a South Korean dark comedy film released in 2000. The films original Korean title is a satirical take on A Dog of Flanders, a European pet story that is very popular in parts of Asia...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was adapted by Bong and Shim Sung-bo from Kim Kwang-rim's 1996 stage play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
about the same subject. The film's cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
, as well as Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
's performance, earned it wide praise.
Plot
At the start of the film, in October 1986, a young woman is found rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d and murdered in a ditch near a field. Soon after, another woman is found raped and murdered in a field. Local detective Park Doo-man, not having dealt with such a serious case before, is overwhelmed; key evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
is improperly collected, the police's investigative methods are suspect, and their forensic technology is near non-existent. Detective Seo Tae-yoon is sent from Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
to assist them; their methods clash and he is unable to convince them they are dealing with a serial killer until his predictions of another murder come true. He realizes that the killer waits until a rainy night, and only kills women wearing red. A female police officer realizes that a local radio station is always requested to play a particular song during the nights the murders are committed.
While Seo investigates and tries to piece together the clues, Park and his men beat confessions out of a local man found masturbating
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
at the scene of one crime, and a scarred mentally handicapped
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
boy whom they threaten to kill, going so far as to make him dig his own grave. Seo clears both of those suspects and follows a trail of clues to a handsome factory worker who had only moved to the area a short time before the first murder. The detectives are unable to pin anything on him; when they realize that the handicapped boy witnessed one of the crimes and try to speak to him, they frighten him so badly that he runs in front of an oncoming train and is killed.
Finally, when yet another murder is committed and DNA evidence
Genetic fingerprinting
DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier...
sent for processing in the United States comes back inconclusive, Seo's frustrations flow over and he snaps. He flies into a rage and roughs up the factory worker; only Park stops Seo from shooting the suspect.
In the end, the crimes remain unsolved. Visiting the crime scene years later in 2003, Park Doo-man, now a businessman, learns from a little girl that the scene had recently been visited by another, unknown man with a 'plain' face.
Reception
Memories of Murder was well-received by both critics and audiences. The film won the South Korean film industry's 2003 Grand Bell Award for best film, while Bong Joon-ho and Song Kang-ho won the awards for best director and best leading actor respectively.By the end of the film's domestic run it had been seen by 5,101,645 people, making it the most watched film during the year 2003 in South Korea. While it was eventually outgained by Silmido
Silmido (film)
Silmido is a 2003 South Korean film, directed by Kang Woo-suk. It is loosely based on a military uprising from the island of Silmido in the 1970s. At the end of its run, the film was the most watched film ever in South Korea, and the first film to attract an audience of 10 million viewers in the...
, which was released in the same year, most of Silmidos audience did not see it until 2004. At the end of the film's run, Memories of Murder was also the fourth most viewed film ever in the country, after Shiri
Shiri (film)
Shiri is a 1999 South Korean action film, written and directed by Kang Je-gyu.Swiri was the first Hollywood-style big-budget blockbuster to be produced in the "new" Korean film industry...
, Friend and Joint Security Area
Joint Security Area (film)
Joint Security Area is a 2000 South Korean film starring Lee Young Ae, Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho. It was directed by Park Chan-wook and is based on the novel DMZ by Park Sang-yeon...
. The commercial success of the film has been credited as saving one of its production companies, Sidus Pictures, from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
.
Memories of Murder received screenings at several international film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, Hawaii International Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...
, London International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
and San Sebastian International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
, where Bong Joon-ho won the Best Director Award.
Director Quentin Tarantino named it, along with Bong's The Host
The Host (film)
The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy and drama films. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun....
, as one of his Top 20 favorite movies since 1992.
Correspondence with real events
While a total body count was never mentioned in the film, a total of 10 similar murders were committed in the Hwaseong area between October 1986 and April 1991. Over 300,000 policemen took part in the investigation and over 3,000 suspects were interrogated.Some of the details of the murders, such as the killer gagging the women with their underwear, were also taken from the case. As in the film, the investigators found bodily fluids suspected to belong to the murderer in the crime scenes, but did not have access to equipment to determine whether the DNA matched with the suspects until late in the investigations. After the ninth murder, DNA evidence was sent to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(unlike the film, where it was sent to America) for analysis, but the results did not correspond with the suspects.
As in the film, the actual murderer has not been caught. As the case grows closer to reaching the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
, South Korea's leading Uri Party
Uri Party
The Yeollin Uri Party , generally abbreviated to Uri Party , was the briefly ruling political party in South Korea with a centrist political ideology...
has sought to amend the law to give the prosecutors more time to find the murderer.
Also, the DNA report that tests the suspect's semen with that found on the body is signed by Clarence M. Kelly. Clarence Kelly was a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Main cast
- Song Kang-hoSong Kang-hoSong Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor.- Career:Song Kang-ho never professionally trained as an actor, beginning his career in social theater groups after graduating from Kimhae High School...
– Detective Park Doo-man - Kim Sang-kyung – Detective Seo Tae-Yoon
- Kim Roe-haKim Roe-haKim Roe-ha is a South Korean actor. Notable roles include a detective in Memories of Murder and a gangster in A Bittersweet Life .- External links :*...
– Detective Cho Yong-koo - Song Jae-ho – Sergeant Shin Dong-chul
- Byeon Hee-bongByeon Hee-bongByeon Hee-bong is a South Korean actor who is best known for his role in the smash hit The Host for which he won awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Blue Dragon Film Awards. Byeon became a cult TV star in the 1970s for portraying eccentric men that can't quite fit in with mainstream...
– Sergeant Koo Hee-bong - Ko Seo-hie – Officer Kwon Kwi-ok
- Park No-shik – Baek Kwang-ho
- Park Hae-ilPark Hae-ilPark Hae-il is a South Korean actor.-Career:Park Hae-il began appearing in theatre productions ever since childhood, and he first established himself on stage rather than on the screen. In 2000 he was awarded the Best New Actor award in the theatre category of the Baeksang Art Awards for his role...
– Park Hyeon-gyu - Jeon Mi-seonJeon Mi-seonJeon Mi-seon is a South Korean actress. She appeared in movies such as Memories of Murder and Bungee Jumping of Their Own.- Filmography :*Bungee Jumping of Their Own *Memories of Murder *A Wacky Switch...
– Kwok Seol-yung
External links
- Darcy Paquet's review at koreanfilm.org