![]() Park Doo-man tries desperately to get his fellow police officers to rope off the area and secure a crime scene, but as he attempts this, the scene around him is flooded with people- reporters, gawkers, and other ostensibly clueless junior police officers. There is one shot in particular that sticks out, and the shot comes when Park Doo-man and Cho Yong-koo first arrive at a crime scene. There are so many dynamic shots with incredible deep staging, some of which coordinate hundreds of extras with mind-boggling camera moves. So first and foremost, the directing in this film is absolutely astounding. The two cops must work together and put aside their differences, lest the murderer continue his spree, or worse… get away… But Park Doo-man and Seo Tae-yoon soon find their investigation methods at odds. Soon, the far more experienced Detective Seo Tae-yoon (Sang-kyung Kim, “Jang Yeong-Sil”) from Seoul comes to assist in the case. Using their less-than-keen detective skills and, when that fails them, unnecessary brute force with witnesses, the two are able to determine that both victims were probably killed by a one killer. I also know that this is based on the Hwaseong serial murders that the investigation ended in 2019 with Lee Chopin-Jae being caught.In 1986 in a small village in South Korea, Detectives Park Doo-man (Kang-ho Song, “The Good the Bad the Weird”) and Cho Yong-koo (Roe-ha Kim, “A Bittersweet Life”) find two bodies in a similar location within a very short timeframe. I just happened to watch Zodiac first, hence the comparison. And I'm so glad it's on Hulu because now I can rewatch it whenever the hell I want.Įdit: I know that this movie came before Zodiac!! I even put the years of both movies in this write-up so that people would know I’m not dumb. But goddamn, what a beautiful piece of storytelling this is. I could honestly talk about this one for ever so I'll stop before I write a novel. It's so chilling knowing that the real life perpetrator likely watched this film-which is why that last look that Song gives is so impactful. And knowing the history behind the basis of this movie makes it worse. And the bandaid, and Seo covering her up-The pain that was felt by everyone on screen in that moment transferred through my laptop screen and into my soul. That final victim? They might as well have knocked on my door and punched me in the gut, that's how awful that was. The intense emotion and pain that was evoked in me upon finding each victim and realizing that the killer was too far ahead of the law for them to catch up to him.I honestly haven't felt so strongly about a plot in years. But it kind of leaves it up to each person-that's something I love about this film. I also noticed myself trying to solve the case with them: I, personally, thought it was most DEFINITELY Park Hyeon-gyu who did it. I found myself laughing even though there was an investigation into some horrible murders going on. ![]() But *Memories of Murder* somehow combined a crime thriller with an absurdist comedy with a piece of political commentary in a way that I've never in my life seen done before. Though the film was incredibly unique, I found myself reminded of David Fincher's *Zodiac* (2007) at times-the dark humor, the topics. Seriously! I don't know a lick of Korean, but the intent behind each performance was so clear that I became lost in the moment. ![]() Each performance by every single actor was 100% there and honest and YET AGAIN WITH BONG I found myself not needing to look at the subtitles. The cinematography was simple but extremely effective, and the score was beautiful. Seriously, Seo's 360 degree character arc was so believable and chilling up until the very end! And that final look to the audience that Song gives? Goose bumps. The characterization by Song Kang-ho (Park) and Kim Sang-kyung (Seo) was hauntingly good. ![]() Seriously, I just finished it only minutes ago and I'm still shaking. I had an inkling that it would be amazing, since I love Bong Joon-ho's other works (The Host is a personal favorite of mine), but I had no idea that my entire essence as an actor and viewer would be impacted. This one's been on my watch list for years and I'm ashamed it took me this long to get around to watching it. ![]()
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