Memories of Murder

For the 1990 American TV film, see Memories of Murder (1990 film).

Memories of Murder
Poster
Hangul	살인의 추억
Hanja	殺人의 追憶
RR	Sarinui Chueok
MR	Sarinŭi Ch'uǒk
Directed by	Bong Joon-ho
Produced by	Cha Seoung-Jae
Written by	Bong Joon-ho Shim Sung-bo Kim Kwang-rim (stage play)
Starring	Song Kang-ho Kim Sang-kyung Kim Roe-ha Park Hae-il Byeon Hee-bong
Music by	Tarō Iwashiro
Cinematography	Kim Hyung-ku
Editing by	Kim Sun-min
Studio	CJ Entertainment Sidus Pictures
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment (South Korea) Optimum Releasing (UK)
Release date(s)	2 May 2003 (South Korea) 16 May 2003 (Cannes Film Festival)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	$2,800,000 US[1]

Memories of Murder (Hangul: 살인의 추억, Salinui chueok) is a 2003 South Korean crime-drama film directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is based on the true story of the country's first known serial murders, 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.

Plot

At the start of the film, in October 1986, a young woman is found raped 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.

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,^[2] 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 Silmido's 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Some of the details of the murders, such as the killer gagging the women with their underwear, were also taken from the case.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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-ho – Detective Park Doo-man
• Kim Sang-kyung – Detective Seo Tae-Yoon
• Kim Roe-ha – Detective Cho Yong-koo
• Song Jae-ho – Sergeant Shin Dong-chul
• Byeon Hee-bong – Sergeant Koo Hee-bong
• Ko Seo-hie – Officer Kwon Kwi-ok
• Park No-shik – Baek Kwang-ho
• Park Hae-il – Park Hyeon-gyu
• Jeon Mi-seon – Kwok Seol-yung

References

1. ^ Cheong, Sung-il; Paquet, Darcy (2004). Korean Cinema 2003, Korean Film Commission. p.92.
2. ^ 2003 Korean film reviews and box-office report at koreanfilm.org
3. ^ Cheong, Sung-il; Paquet, Darcy (2004). Korean Cinema 2003, Korean Film Commission. p.7.
4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OReP7WpbmIo
5. ^ CJ Entertainment's site on Memories of Murder
6. ^ Unsolved murders may escape prosecution, daum.net, March 2, 2006, retrieved March 11, 2006.
7. ^ Hwang Ho-taek, DNA Evidence, donga.com, January 21, 2006, retrieved March 11, 2006.
8. ^ Lee Sun-young, Uri seeks extension of prosecution time limits, The Korea Herald, November 23, 2005.

External links

• Official website
• Memories of Murder at the Internet Movie Database
• Darcy Paquet's review at koreanfilm.org

Preceded by The Way Home	Grand Bell Award for Best Film 2003	Succeeded by Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Preceded by Oasis	Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Film 2003	Unknown