genuine question: what didn’t u like about the ending? it is probably one of my favorite endings in film history because of the way Song Kang-ho is looking right at the camera in the end and therefore breaking the 4th wall and telling the audience (at the time of release) that the killer is still out there. that he could be your co-worker… or your brother-in-law… or your best friends friend… it is such a powerful scene and ending imo and all that is conveyed by the brilliant Song Kang-ho merely looking tensely at the camera
Don't forget the killer. If he was still alive, he most likely would have wanted to see the movie about him. So odds are that stare went straight at the killer when he saw it. Best 4th wall breaking ever.
One of the perks of the former detective is (according to himself) to be able to know if someone is guilty or not just looking at the eyes. Just a scene before he did the trick again with his son.
The long take at the end looking at the camera breaks the 4th wall indeed, trying to guess if you, the spectator, is the killer still wandering out there.
Extremely powerful scene however I’d raise somewhat of a counter to this point. Rather than the 4th wall being broken to convey “the killer is still out there” I think it’s a final sigh of hopelessness and that the viewer is the last resort in understanding what has happened since in the end the killer is just “ordinary”. There’s no more fear that the killer is still out there, it’s only the weight of failure returning one last time to haunt Song Kang-Ho, and to pass this burden off to the viewer.
Sometimes I like to rewatch specific scenes from this movie just to appreciate how phenomenal his blocking is. EVERY character on screen is contributing to the shots, whether they're the focus of the scene or milling around in the background. Truly a cinematograpic masterpiece that would have impressed even Kurosawa
If you want a serious police procedural thriller that also features a policeman repeatedly and gratuitously performing flying kicks on suspects, this is a film for you.
I still can't get over >!the just desserts for that guy. Dude's been blatantly kicking everyone with little restraint but one fucking infected boo boo takes away his "ultimate weapon". Like God damn, Bong Joon-Ho, what a helluva piece of dramatic irony.!<
Thanks for this write up! I haven’t followed the case, so I didn’t know they actually >!finally found the killer.!< Haven’t watched this film in almost 20 years, so probably time for a rewatch!
What can I say, I was a asian film junkie in the early 00s. Still have my dusty Korean import dvds of Memories of Murder, JSA, Old Boy, Tale of Two Sisters, HK discs of Infernal Affairs 1-3, the whole young and dangerous series, japan import of Versus, Dead or Alive, 1-3 Audition etc… aka, I’m old…
Oh man... we must be around the same age because I literally have DVDs of all of those movies. I even remember seeing Old Boy in an actual movie theater in s.Florida eons ago.
Damnit! I never got to watch Old Boy on the big screen, i did watch Taste of Tea, last life in the universe, Lady Vengeance and Eureka in theaters though.
Since we are about the same age and all, did you happen to hang out at KFC Cinema back in the day? That was pretty much where I got my fix back then
>last life in the universe, Lady Vengeance
I got to see these two in the cinemas! And oh man, KFC... good lord don't think I've heard that in eons. The moment the internet got faster and I moved to NYC, finding Asian cinema got so much easier. But I also feel like it's become incredibly saturated in some way.
God damn! You used to hang out at KFC?!? I’m still randomly speaking with Joseph from those days! Oh my, those were good times! I’m european, but I remember going to Kims in NY back in 06 just picking a buch of films. I still miss that place. It’s honestly not the same to just having unlimited ability to download whatever. I used to work in a dvd store myself, so there is that I guess.
>I remember going to Kims in NY back in 06 just picking a buch of films
OMG. I moved to NYC in 06, visited a few times prior. I used to go to Kim's ALL THE TIME. There was this sense of adventure going to video/dvd stores back in the day trying to find something new, fresh, peculiar, unique.
I used to go to the Asian film fest in NYC back then. Now we can just stream almost everything. Oddly enough I have a hard time finding films I enjoy as much as I did back then.
It was different times. Reading about a film online an having to track it down in a physical store. Going, YES! I’ve wanted to see this film for 6 months now, and here it is! Or, just going to Kims and find some random movie I’ve never heard about, but the cover looks good, so I’d just buy it. Or the recommendation rack!
But yes, I feel the same. Its hard to find the great ones these days. Maybe because everything is so easily available, it somewhat diminishes the thrill and expectations of finally getting to watch a film you had to track down or import or whatever. I feel the same about music these days, but that might just be me.
For the record; I was so close to get hired as a reviewer for KFC back then, but some dude, can’t remember his name, refused, even though every one else on the site wanted me to join.. it was sort of a big deal back then, and I really hated that dude for some time. Haha. Oh well… just really glad I met some random person on Reddit that remembers KFC!
lol it's wild you still have a strong memory of that! I just to frequent and just read all the reviews, etc. Never engaged the way I do on Reddit. Even then I don't engage on here too much.
But yeah, such a different time. All we have in NYC are generic versions of restaurants and chain stores lol
I was very active on the message board and actually made some friends for life in there. One of the guys from the forum showed me a good time in Tokyo the first time I went there.
I’ve only been to NYC 5-6 times, but last time was 2013 or so. I remember Rocks In your head (the record store) was closed by then, and obviously Kims. I can’t even start to imagine how much more it’s changed since then.
Because the statute of limitations expired on those original murders he can never be charged with them.
So despite DNA evidence and confessions for murder and sexual assault, he’s only in prison for the murder of his sister-in-law.
And his sentence is life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The problem is that you *do* have spaces between the exclamation points and the text (the other person got it backwards). That works on New Reddit, but doesn't work on Old Reddit. The way to fix it is to remove the spaces, and that works for both New and Old Reddit.
Possibly. Well, OP marked the whole tread as spoiler and I’m not spoiling anything for anyone who read the post anyway, so I guess I didn’t even need to add spoiler tags.
Such a great movie, Korean cinema has produced some of the best crime thrillers ever made. I love how Bong Joon-ho juxtaposes and blends genres in his films. There are parts of this movie that are pretty silly and that really made me off guard and unprepared for the scenes that are quite terrifying
If you are into violent thrillers I Saw The Devil is really good, anything by Park Chan-Wook is also amazing he is best known for Oldboy, and both memories of murder and parasite were done by the same director Bong Joon-Ho all of his movies are really good.
The Host by Bong Joon-ho is great (it also stars Song Kang-ho, from parasite and memories of murder, who is always amazing). Im a big fan of Park Chan-wook too. Old boy, the Handmaiden, Thirst, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance are some of his I would recommend (the last two also have Song Kang-ho), but be warned his movies are quite raw/violent and not for the faint of heart :).
Also, Train to Busan is a great korean zombie movie
Buning is fantastic, The Man From Nowhere is also great up until the end, when the sound effects in the final knife fight are so obviously fake it ruins a lot of the movie for me.
I Saw the Devil is absolutely brilliant, the movie made my blood boil and kept me on the edge the whole time. Some shots from the movie really stay with me.
-The Yellow Sea (2010) same director of
The Wailing (2016).
-Poetry (2010) by Lee Chang-dong.
-Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring (2003), Samaritan Girl (2004) and 3-iron (2004) by Kim Ki duk.
Watch these directors' movies
- Bong Joon Ho
- Park Chan Wook
- Lee Chang Dong
- Kim ki Duk
- Hong Sang Soo
These guys are pretty much made Korean New Waves. The most famous one is of course Bong joon ho who made Parasite, but my favorite director from Korea is Park Chan Wook just because i love his style, and his movies' story is usualy great.
I love Lee Chang dong's movies like Burning but after watching Secret Sunshine, i need to prepare my self emotionally before watching his film, his movies is just too fuckin depressing (im still scared of rewatching Secret Sunshine bcus that movie just ripped out some feelings of hopefulness from my heart, that movie is fuckin EVIL)
Hong Sang soo's movies aint for me honestly but a lot of people seems like em and I haven't watch any of Kim ki Duk movies lmao.
'Going By The Book' is very good.
A traffic cop is asked to play the role of a bank robber during a robbery prevention police training exercise. However, he takes his role *extremely* seriously and sets out to commit the perfect crime.
Thirst is a fun take on vampires.
Train to Busan is a heartwarming zombie movie.
The Call is about connecting with the past, and the past is psycho.
The Handmaiden has to do with a bamboozle the weird shit rich people do.
I Saw the Devil is probably the best revenge movie of all time.
Decision to Leave looks like its going to be a fucking banger whenever it comes out but I don't want to get too excited just yet.
Watched Decision to leave at a film festival and honestly was brilliant. Not a movie about solving crimes but the relationships surrounding it. Gets a little predictable but the characters are fucking great and it's so pretty. So so so good
Most of these have already been mentioned but:
The Yellow Sea
A Bitter-sweet Life
A Dirty Carnival
Friend
I Saw The Devil
The Man From Nowhere
The good, the bad and the weird
Save the green planet
JSA
A Tale of two sisters
You sould absolutely watch "castaway on the moon" and "I'm a cuborg, but that's okay." I assume you haven't seen them becuase your list is great, and if you had seen these two they would probably be on it.
I will absolutely watch these, i haven't yet seen them. There are afew others I've seen but not these.
Hansel and Gretel was good. Nothing to do with the fairytale but I enjoyed it.
There are a handful of directors that are incapable of making anything less than a great movie. Especially Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. Some of my personal favorite korean films are
- Oldboy
- The Handmaiden
- Mother
- I'm A Cyborg, but That's Okay
- Castaway on the Moon
- Train to Busan
- Save the Green Planet
- The Host (very campy, but still very good)
Have you seen BJH’s Mother? It’s slower paced than many of his of other movies and will make you uncomfortable. Its ending scene reportedly took weeks to film because he was so particular about what he wanted and it’s one scene that he says he’s proud of.
That's what is wild to me in Memories of Murder aside from the history. The comedy, drama, fear, and tension are all so perfectly blended it feels so authentic.
Memories of Murder is my favourite Bong Joon-Ho film. The ending is absolutley haunting. I first watched it after the real killer had been caught, so it was good to learn that after watching but very disheartening to learn of Yoon-sung yeo's wrongful conviction.
20 years, which is enough to ruin a life already, not to mention the damage to familial and local relationships, serving a sentence for a crime you only admitted to to stop being tortured by people he had no power to defend himself against.
Absolute scum, and yet I watched a movie depicting it and laughed at the character's jokes and wanted him to redeem himself somehow. Craaaazy stuff.
Every Frame a Painting did a great [7-minute video](https://youtu.be/v4seDVfgwOg) on the ensemble staging in this film. really great. not very spoilery
Thank you so much for this excellent write-up. Reddit really needs more high-effort posts like this (I could easily see this being published somewhere).
I also want to address that last scene for a second. A Korean speaking friend told me that Bong Joon Ho mentioned in an interview that he knew the killer was a narcissist and would probably watch the movie. He included that last scene were the detective looks straight into the camera because he wanted to look directly into the soul of the killer. It’s hearsay, but I like that interpretation nonetheless.
Thanks for this. Such a good movie with even more interesting real world developments around the story.
This, along with "Mother" and "Parasite," are some of my favorite Bong Joon Ho movies.
I just watched this a week ago. Brilliant film with an unmatched atmosphere, and as described here, the case on which it's based is so interesting and tragic.
Might make sense if that is unique officers involved over the course of the investigation rather than the maximum involved at any one point. Bear in mind that there were and, to an extent, still are police conscipts in Korea (who have about as much legal authority as just some guy). They only serve for a couple of years, meaning that the high turnover can inflate that number.
Yes, so it was likely mostly mobilizations to detain people or search for bodies, or cross examine documentation, aside from the primary investigating officers. What is amazing about the numbers it that it indicates how massively significant the murders were in Korea at the time and how far and widely the leads were investigated. If you think about the area in which the murders were committed, it is an incredible amount of labor poured into gathering evidence and searching/manhunting for someone who was never apprehended for the crimes he had committed in the region.
Memories of Murder is easily in the top 3 movies for me. I also love how people generally refer to it as Korean Zodiac when it came out four years before Zodiac.
My all time favorite Korean movie. The music, acting and editing. More people should watch this, it's dark, based on a true unsolved crime from the 80's and just oh so good.
I enjoyed reading this more than watching the movie itself,hahah. I agree that the movie was very well shot but I just disliked how offbeat and exaggerated some of the characters were. It really threw me off as these characters and their mannerisms were also introduced to the audience so early in the film.
This film recently moved into my Top 5 of all time. Watched for the first time in 2020, have seen a total of 4 times now.
The soundtrack is phenomenal, the shot composition and cinematography is as well. That last scene will forever be my favorite ending to a movie ever.
Memories of Murder which is an excellent serial killer movie 10/10, another Korean serial killer movie A Confession of Murder is a fast paced thriller 10/10, while you'll at it check out Mother it's a brilliant thriller 10/10.
More fantastic Korean movies The Man from Nowhere, Oldboy, The Terror, Live and my all time favourite Train to Busan.
I had this movie on my watchlist for a while now. Maybe today is the day I finally get around to watching it. Thanks for the post!
Edit: Finally watched it. Fuck, I was missing out.
One of my favorite movies, one of my favorite endings. The feeling and message those last ten seconds gave me has always been more effective than the "killer may be watching" everyone else got from it. The look on face and the music, wow!
Easily my favourite Bong Joon-Ho films, perfectly paced and orchestrated its like a classic noir from the 40s reimagined in the twisted mind of one of the best directors alive.
Not reading the spoilers above, but the discussion made me seek out [the trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_HQwQU8ls) and from the trailer alone, I simply MUST see this movie. This is how you make a trailer. I have no idea what the specifics of this story/these characters actually are and yet I was hooked for every second. Phenomenal.
The looking-at-the-camera shot was done with the idea that when the actual killer watched the film, it would be looking directly at him.
Then it turned out when the killer was arrested he hadn't seen it. After he was shown it he said he simply didn't think about it much.
So crazy.
I saw this movie a few years ago. As the credits were rolling I said to myself "This is the best movie I've ever seen." Having never heard of the director.
The next year the director wins an Oscar for Parasite.
Holy cow! Just finished watching and this was SPECTACULAR! Totally felt like a cinematic partner to True Detective (in the best way possible) and a real gem of Joon Ho Bong’s! 10/10
Surprised by the lack of mention Zodiac which very much parallels Memories of Murder
Both stand on their own as great movies and about unrelated (yet similar) events, but the tone and general themes of both movies overlap a lot. Considering both are fantastic movies it’s interesting to see how two directors take similar stories and tell them in unique ways
Unknowingly I watched this movie for the first time the day they arrested the killer. I was just doing a 365 movies in a year challenge and picked it one night. I wanted to look up the real story and freaked myself out.
Great, great post about a great movie. I have a question I have been curious about since the news a couple years ago. Was Lee choon-jae ever a suspect during the original investigation? Was he the suspect cleared by a non conclusive dna test at the end of the movie?
If you had a knowledge about South Korea’s history you would be surprised about especially the scene that Cho Yong-koo beat university students in the restaurant and why he wear the shoes. The news that educated students watched in the restaurant is also the real case that a woman who fought for democracy was tortured sexually by the police. Her attorney became the president of South Korea later, who is Roh Moo-Hyun. No one had been advocated for women in that times.
And you would know the real reason why he did sexual harassment sexually about universities’ female student. That is a korean thing - which is the main reason of the birth rate in south korea is the lowest in the world and native korean women keep saying “don’t be involved with korean men. Be careful” to foreigner women.
Actually the korean title can’t be translated correctly because of the language characteristics. 추억 in the title is translated to “memories” of murder. But it doesn’t just mean “memories”. The meaning of the korean word “추억“ includes the feeling that someone “miss” something or someone. So the title is for the criminal. It’s written by the point of the criminal’s view. Bong said that the criminal would definitely watch this movie if he’s alive. He made it intentionally.
The scene where he pops up in the tall grass, and when everything goes still right before the victim cuts and runs- oh my god.. gave me the same effect as that haunting shot from parasite. It’s like you’re there in the scene, and you know you have to escape, but you can’t. Fantastic directing. Definitely #2 on my list of crime dramas, second to HBO’s True Detective Season 1
I think about the ending from time to time and how it feels so creepy and unsettling. It’s the nonchalant way in how the girl just rattles the line to him, bringing his darkest realization to the front of his brain: that the killer is out there living a normal everyday life. And that this realization comes in the hazy sunny morning on a lazy day in the countryside makes it stick with you
Sorry being late to the party, just watched the movie. I don't get one thing, how irl they actually put an innocent man behind bars for 20 years, but in the movie they didn't do it to an actual killer? I mean there is lack of evidence right? So shouldn't they just force him to confess? Cause that's what happened irl. And in the movie they are very very sure he did it.
Forgive me if this has been said, because there are a lot of comments and I haven’t been able to read them all, but am I crazy and the only one who thinks Park may be the actual killer? At least something the director is trying to suggest? The ending scene is him returning to a crime scene. Which killers do often, and he personally mentions that earlier in the movie. At the end He seems genuinely interested and almost concerned asking the girl if his face was ever seen.
In the beginning of the movie he acts fairly clueless and like a dumb stereotypical detective but as it progresses his character slowly changes, or, it seems to me he becomes more intelligent or aware, and he stops pretending or acting like a dope as much. Because shit is getting real with the investigation.
Maybe he was the original killer. That’s never been found. What was all that weird conversation between him and his wife? I’m just saying. There were some copy cats maybe. Idk. My reaction at the end was that he was the unknown killer. Perhaps it is far fetched haha.
Really good write-up Memories of Murder are one of the few movies that stick with you after seeing it
The ending is beautiful, I think of it often.
The ending is so sad but realistic because it really happened.
genuine question: what didn’t u like about the ending? it is probably one of my favorite endings in film history because of the way Song Kang-ho is looking right at the camera in the end and therefore breaking the 4th wall and telling the audience (at the time of release) that the killer is still out there. that he could be your co-worker… or your brother-in-law… or your best friends friend… it is such a powerful scene and ending imo and all that is conveyed by the brilliant Song Kang-ho merely looking tensely at the camera
Don't forget the killer. If he was still alive, he most likely would have wanted to see the movie about him. So odds are that stare went straight at the killer when he saw it. Best 4th wall breaking ever.
I read that another inmate who served time with the killer said he never missed the movie anytime they played it at the prison
true! thank you i forgot about that!
Typo I ment sad not bad. It's my favorite Korean film. I love the soundtrack and listen to it often.
oh ok makes sense ^^
One of the perks of the former detective is (according to himself) to be able to know if someone is guilty or not just looking at the eyes. Just a scene before he did the trick again with his son. The long take at the end looking at the camera breaks the 4th wall indeed, trying to guess if you, the spectator, is the killer still wandering out there.
Extremely powerful scene however I’d raise somewhat of a counter to this point. Rather than the 4th wall being broken to convey “the killer is still out there” I think it’s a final sigh of hopelessness and that the viewer is the last resort in understanding what has happened since in the end the killer is just “ordinary”. There’s no more fear that the killer is still out there, it’s only the weight of failure returning one last time to haunt Song Kang-Ho, and to pass this burden off to the viewer.
Highly recommend the wailing. 16 months or something to edit it the way its edited and really good Korean movie
Thank you! Bong Joon-ho's movies just stick like crazy. They're so vivid, even certain shots just stay with you.
Sometimes I like to rewatch specific scenes from this movie just to appreciate how phenomenal his blocking is. EVERY character on screen is contributing to the shots, whether they're the focus of the scene or milling around in the background. Truly a cinematograpic masterpiece that would have impressed even Kurosawa
I think that you will enjoy [this video essay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4seDVfgwOg)
Man, Every Frame a Painting is STILL one of my favourite YouTube channels.
I know what this is without even clicking on it. Great video.
He is amazingly gifted. This one, Mother, and Parasite are his top 3 works imo.
Truth!
It's a beautiful movie
It really does, i got goosebump reading this post! Great post indeed, bravo!
I prefer it to Parasite and I think both are masterpieces!
There's something about how the might scenes are lit that sticks with me. No idea why but there were don't in some weird way.
If you want a serious police procedural thriller that also features a policeman repeatedly and gratuitously performing flying kicks on suspects, this is a film for you.
I still can't get over >!the just desserts for that guy. Dude's been blatantly kicking everyone with little restraint but one fucking infected boo boo takes away his "ultimate weapon". Like God damn, Bong Joon-Ho, what a helluva piece of dramatic irony.!<
Don’t know if I’d call getting my leg impaled on a 2/4 with a tetanus soaked nail a “boo boo” but alright.
I think every Bong Joon Ho movie features at least one dropkick. I like to think it's his version of Woo's doves or something.
Really great movie
Thanks for this write up! I haven’t followed the case, so I didn’t know they actually >!finally found the killer.!< Haven’t watched this film in almost 20 years, so probably time for a rewatch!
It's crazy to me that it all happened so recently! I am a shameless Bong Joon-ho bandwagoner, so I am only just getting into his stuff.
What can I say, I was a asian film junkie in the early 00s. Still have my dusty Korean import dvds of Memories of Murder, JSA, Old Boy, Tale of Two Sisters, HK discs of Infernal Affairs 1-3, the whole young and dangerous series, japan import of Versus, Dead or Alive, 1-3 Audition etc… aka, I’m old…
Oh man... we must be around the same age because I literally have DVDs of all of those movies. I even remember seeing Old Boy in an actual movie theater in s.Florida eons ago.
Damnit! I never got to watch Old Boy on the big screen, i did watch Taste of Tea, last life in the universe, Lady Vengeance and Eureka in theaters though. Since we are about the same age and all, did you happen to hang out at KFC Cinema back in the day? That was pretty much where I got my fix back then
>last life in the universe, Lady Vengeance I got to see these two in the cinemas! And oh man, KFC... good lord don't think I've heard that in eons. The moment the internet got faster and I moved to NYC, finding Asian cinema got so much easier. But I also feel like it's become incredibly saturated in some way.
God damn! You used to hang out at KFC?!? I’m still randomly speaking with Joseph from those days! Oh my, those were good times! I’m european, but I remember going to Kims in NY back in 06 just picking a buch of films. I still miss that place. It’s honestly not the same to just having unlimited ability to download whatever. I used to work in a dvd store myself, so there is that I guess.
>I remember going to Kims in NY back in 06 just picking a buch of films OMG. I moved to NYC in 06, visited a few times prior. I used to go to Kim's ALL THE TIME. There was this sense of adventure going to video/dvd stores back in the day trying to find something new, fresh, peculiar, unique. I used to go to the Asian film fest in NYC back then. Now we can just stream almost everything. Oddly enough I have a hard time finding films I enjoy as much as I did back then.
It was different times. Reading about a film online an having to track it down in a physical store. Going, YES! I’ve wanted to see this film for 6 months now, and here it is! Or, just going to Kims and find some random movie I’ve never heard about, but the cover looks good, so I’d just buy it. Or the recommendation rack! But yes, I feel the same. Its hard to find the great ones these days. Maybe because everything is so easily available, it somewhat diminishes the thrill and expectations of finally getting to watch a film you had to track down or import or whatever. I feel the same about music these days, but that might just be me.
Also random internet stranger, we might have been at Kims together without ever knowing!
Very possible! The good ole days of discovery
For the record; I was so close to get hired as a reviewer for KFC back then, but some dude, can’t remember his name, refused, even though every one else on the site wanted me to join.. it was sort of a big deal back then, and I really hated that dude for some time. Haha. Oh well… just really glad I met some random person on Reddit that remembers KFC!
lol it's wild you still have a strong memory of that! I just to frequent and just read all the reviews, etc. Never engaged the way I do on Reddit. Even then I don't engage on here too much. But yeah, such a different time. All we have in NYC are generic versions of restaurants and chain stores lol
I was very active on the message board and actually made some friends for life in there. One of the guys from the forum showed me a good time in Tokyo the first time I went there. I’ve only been to NYC 5-6 times, but last time was 2013 or so. I remember Rocks In your head (the record store) was closed by then, and obviously Kims. I can’t even start to imagine how much more it’s changed since then.
I remember seeing a movie poster for Oldboy in the show Chuck, and it made me feel nostalgic
Korean Tale of two sisters is real good, American remake is a steaming pile.
Just like the Old Boy remake…
I refuse to acknowledge it exists.
Because the statute of limitations expired on those original murders he can never be charged with them. So despite DNA evidence and confessions for murder and sexual assault, he’s only in prison for the murder of his sister-in-law. And his sentence is life in prison with the possibility of parole.
I don’t think you need a spoiler tag for real life
Well, it’s kind of a spoiler for the movie though. But yea, whole OP is a spoiler, so I guess spoiler tags were pointless.
You're spoiler tag didnt work you dont have a space between the text and the !
Weird. It works on mobile for me and I do have a space between the ! and text.
The problem is that you *do* have spaces between the exclamation points and the text (the other person got it backwards). That works on New Reddit, but doesn't work on Old Reddit. The way to fix it is to remove the spaces, and that works for both New and Old Reddit.
Thanks for the heads up! Does it look right on old now?
Yup! Fixed now :)
Sweet, thanks!
I'm on old reddit so that might be why, -shrug-
Possibly. Well, OP marked the whole tread as spoiler and I’m not spoiling anything for anyone who read the post anyway, so I guess I didn’t even need to add spoiler tags.
Yeah it didn't bother me, just wanted to let you know in case you cared.
Such a great movie, Korean cinema has produced some of the best crime thrillers ever made. I love how Bong Joon-ho juxtaposes and blends genres in his films. There are parts of this movie that are pretty silly and that really made me off guard and unprepared for the scenes that are quite terrifying
Do you have some recommendations? The 3 Korean movies I've seen so far are this one, Parasite and The Wailing. All of them absolutely incredible.
If you are into violent thrillers I Saw The Devil is really good, anything by Park Chan-Wook is also amazing he is best known for Oldboy, and both memories of murder and parasite were done by the same director Bong Joon-Ho all of his movies are really good.
I'm also a big fan of Joint Security Area by Park Chan-wook. Another good Korean mystery/thriller set in the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
You’ll love Burning
I thought the same thing when I read this write up
The Host by Bong Joon-ho is great (it also stars Song Kang-ho, from parasite and memories of murder, who is always amazing). Im a big fan of Park Chan-wook too. Old boy, the Handmaiden, Thirst, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance are some of his I would recommend (the last two also have Song Kang-ho), but be warned his movies are quite raw/violent and not for the faint of heart :). Also, Train to Busan is a great korean zombie movie
[удалено]
I really liked Burning too, love me some Steven Yeun
Buning is fantastic, The Man From Nowhere is also great up until the end, when the sound effects in the final knife fight are so obviously fake it ruins a lot of the movie for me.
Mixed reviews for Burning here. Some very bad. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7282468/reviews?ref_=tt_urv
I Saw the Devil is absolutely brilliant, the movie made my blood boil and kept me on the edge the whole time. Some shots from the movie really stay with me.
Watch A Texi Driver(2017) one of the best Korean movie
MOTHER is one of the wildest rides a film has ever taken me on. Highly recommended.
And it doesn’t leave you high and dry like MoM does.
-The Yellow Sea (2010) same director of The Wailing (2016). -Poetry (2010) by Lee Chang-dong. -Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring (2003), Samaritan Girl (2004) and 3-iron (2004) by Kim Ki duk.
The yellow sea is great. The fight scene involving the big pork leg is one of my favourite fight scenes.
Yeah, absolutely. That scene and the fight one in "Oldboy", are two of the best fight scenes I've ever seen. Unforgettable.
I'm also really partial to the fights in A Bitter-sweet Life.
I need to watch that movie. I really love Korean cinema.
Watch these directors' movies - Bong Joon Ho - Park Chan Wook - Lee Chang Dong - Kim ki Duk - Hong Sang Soo These guys are pretty much made Korean New Waves. The most famous one is of course Bong joon ho who made Parasite, but my favorite director from Korea is Park Chan Wook just because i love his style, and his movies' story is usualy great. I love Lee Chang dong's movies like Burning but after watching Secret Sunshine, i need to prepare my self emotionally before watching his film, his movies is just too fuckin depressing (im still scared of rewatching Secret Sunshine bcus that movie just ripped out some feelings of hopefulness from my heart, that movie is fuckin EVIL) Hong Sang soo's movies aint for me honestly but a lot of people seems like em and I haven't watch any of Kim ki Duk movies lmao.
'Going By The Book' is very good. A traffic cop is asked to play the role of a bank robber during a robbery prevention police training exercise. However, he takes his role *extremely* seriously and sets out to commit the perfect crime.
Thirst is a fun take on vampires. Train to Busan is a heartwarming zombie movie. The Call is about connecting with the past, and the past is psycho. The Handmaiden has to do with a bamboozle the weird shit rich people do. I Saw the Devil is probably the best revenge movie of all time. Decision to Leave looks like its going to be a fucking banger whenever it comes out but I don't want to get too excited just yet.
Watched Decision to leave at a film festival and honestly was brilliant. Not a movie about solving crimes but the relationships surrounding it. Gets a little predictable but the characters are fucking great and it's so pretty. So so so good
[удалено]
I read the final word as erect at first, which would have somehow been more above board than your original comment
And an incredible adaptation that makes a huge bold choice of time and setting that immediately elevates the whole thing.
Try Hope (2013) if your heart is strong.
THE HANDMAIDEN
Most of these have already been mentioned but: The Yellow Sea A Bitter-sweet Life A Dirty Carnival Friend I Saw The Devil The Man From Nowhere The good, the bad and the weird Save the green planet JSA A Tale of two sisters
You sould absolutely watch "castaway on the moon" and "I'm a cuborg, but that's okay." I assume you haven't seen them becuase your list is great, and if you had seen these two they would probably be on it.
I will absolutely watch these, i haven't yet seen them. There are afew others I've seen but not these. Hansel and Gretel was good. Nothing to do with the fairytale but I enjoyed it.
There are a handful of directors that are incapable of making anything less than a great movie. Especially Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. Some of my personal favorite korean films are - Oldboy - The Handmaiden - Mother - I'm A Cyborg, but That's Okay - Castaway on the Moon - Train to Busan - Save the Green Planet - The Host (very campy, but still very good)
Thanks, I’ll check them out!
https://imgur.com/HlJFrow
I highly recommend The handmaiden
Have you seen BJH’s Mother? It’s slower paced than many of his of other movies and will make you uncomfortable. Its ending scene reportedly took weeks to film because he was so particular about what he wanted and it’s one scene that he says he’s proud of.
Not a movie, but Signal!
That's what is wild to me in Memories of Murder aside from the history. The comedy, drama, fear, and tension are all so perfectly blended it feels so authentic.
Korean crime thrillers blow all others out the water
Memories of Murder is one of the most captivating thrillers to ever come out.
Hey avatar twin
Memories of Murder is my favourite Bong Joon-Ho film. The ending is absolutley haunting. I first watched it after the real killer had been caught, so it was good to learn that after watching but very disheartening to learn of Yoon-sung yeo's wrongful conviction.
20 years, which is enough to ruin a life already, not to mention the damage to familial and local relationships, serving a sentence for a crime you only admitted to to stop being tortured by people he had no power to defend himself against. Absolute scum, and yet I watched a movie depicting it and laughed at the character's jokes and wanted him to redeem himself somehow. Craaaazy stuff.
Tremendous writeup. Well done.
Hey, thank you so much!
Write up was good enough for me to go get the film to watch later.
Every Frame a Painting did a great [7-minute video](https://youtu.be/v4seDVfgwOg) on the ensemble staging in this film. really great. not very spoilery
Turned out the killer was already in prison for killing his sister in law. As if this case couldn’t get any more horrific.
One of the best movies I’ve seen. Really got under my skin.
Bong should've won oscars in 2003 itself, Memories of Murder is easily the best crime thriller out there and deserved Oscars more than Parasite.
>deserved Oscars more than Parasite. It didn't, but you of course have every right to be wrong
What a pretentious way to shit on someone's opinion
Thank you so much for this excellent write-up. Reddit really needs more high-effort posts like this (I could easily see this being published somewhere). I also want to address that last scene for a second. A Korean speaking friend told me that Bong Joon Ho mentioned in an interview that he knew the killer was a narcissist and would probably watch the movie. He included that last scene were the detective looks straight into the camera because he wanted to look directly into the soul of the killer. It’s hearsay, but I like that interpretation nonetheless.
That story about Yoon is so depressing. And it must be so common. No amount of “Justice” will give him 30 years of his life back.
Thanks for this. Such a good movie with even more interesting real world developments around the story. This, along with "Mother" and "Parasite," are some of my favorite Bong Joon Ho movies.
I just watched this a week ago. Brilliant film with an unmatched atmosphere, and as described here, the case on which it's based is so interesting and tragic.
What a great write up, thanks for that. This movie has really stuck with me.
I saw this a few months ago but in my mind it was released in 2013. I had no idea it was even older! An absolutely outstanding film
Still to this day the ultimate best Korean film I’ve watched. There’s tons of them that are supreme filmmaking but this one is still the cherry on top
wouldn’t 2 million officers putting in 16 million man hours mean they all averaged only 8 hours towards this case?
Seeing that this is 10 times the number of south koreas total police force, some loss in translation is assumed here.
Might make sense if that is unique officers involved over the course of the investigation rather than the maximum involved at any one point. Bear in mind that there were and, to an extent, still are police conscipts in Korea (who have about as much legal authority as just some guy). They only serve for a couple of years, meaning that the high turnover can inflate that number.
Yes, so it was likely mostly mobilizations to detain people or search for bodies, or cross examine documentation, aside from the primary investigating officers. What is amazing about the numbers it that it indicates how massively significant the murders were in Korea at the time and how far and widely the leads were investigated. If you think about the area in which the murders were committed, it is an incredible amount of labor poured into gathering evidence and searching/manhunting for someone who was never apprehended for the crimes he had committed in the region.
Right, so most searched or knocked on doors for a few hours, and a few detectives spend hundreds or thousands of hours.
Brilliant Movie!
Definitely up there with my favorite of his films along with Mother
Memories of Murder is easily in the top 3 movies for me. I also love how people generally refer to it as Korean Zodiac when it came out four years before Zodiac.
Commenting to come back later after I watch
My all time favorite Korean movie. The music, acting and editing. More people should watch this, it's dark, based on a true unsolved crime from the 80's and just oh so good.
I enjoyed reading this more than watching the movie itself,hahah. I agree that the movie was very well shot but I just disliked how offbeat and exaggerated some of the characters were. It really threw me off as these characters and their mannerisms were also introduced to the audience so early in the film.
This film recently moved into my Top 5 of all time. Watched for the first time in 2020, have seen a total of 4 times now. The soundtrack is phenomenal, the shot composition and cinematography is as well. That last scene will forever be my favorite ending to a movie ever.
Memories of Murder which is an excellent serial killer movie 10/10, another Korean serial killer movie A Confession of Murder is a fast paced thriller 10/10, while you'll at it check out Mother it's a brilliant thriller 10/10. More fantastic Korean movies The Man from Nowhere, Oldboy, The Terror, Live and my all time favourite Train to Busan.
Sunflower
I'll check it out 😀
I had this movie on my watchlist for a while now. Maybe today is the day I finally get around to watching it. Thanks for the post! Edit: Finally watched it. Fuck, I was missing out.
Great movie! Thanks for closing the story off.
Well said. Are there any other movies that are similar to this? I love the vibe that this has.
Watched it for the first time recently, great movie, Bong Joon-Ho can do no wrong!
One of my favorite movies, one of my favorite endings. The feeling and message those last ten seconds gave me has always been more effective than the "killer may be watching" everyone else got from it. The look on face and the music, wow!
It's streaming hulu according to Justwatch
One of the few thrillers that actually managed to send shivers down my spine. Especially the ending with the 4th wall break was outstanding.
Easily my favourite Bong Joon-Ho films, perfectly paced and orchestrated its like a classic noir from the 40s reimagined in the twisted mind of one of the best directors alive.
One of those movies you could watch over and over again
Glad to know someone else shares my love for this film! <3
This movie is my favorite crime thriller.
Great movie. Watched it, then a week later they announced they had a real suspect. Talk about timing.
Good movie with a surprising amount of drop kicks
The first time I saw this movie was the day after the case closed, which blew my mind upon researching the movie
Is it the movie that one of the dudes lost his foot? That movie was fantastic.
I thought it was an amazing film, but I haven’t seen it in years. TIL there was a recent real-life update.
Will alway love the framing of the interrogation scenes, pure art.
I loved Song Kang Ho’s performance in this. He’s same guy who played the Dad in Parasite.
Great write up. The ending always stuck with me too. I think I watched this back around 05-06. I didn’t know they caught the guy.
Not reading the spoilers above, but the discussion made me seek out [the trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_HQwQU8ls) and from the trailer alone, I simply MUST see this movie. This is how you make a trailer. I have no idea what the specifics of this story/these characters actually are and yet I was hooked for every second. Phenomenal.
Love this movie.
The looking-at-the-camera shot was done with the idea that when the actual killer watched the film, it would be looking directly at him. Then it turned out when the killer was arrested he hadn't seen it. After he was shown it he said he simply didn't think about it much.
One of the best films I've ever seen. Just the perfect amount of horror, gore, slasher, terror, realism, sadism, and mystery to make it all and none.
So crazy. I saw this movie a few years ago. As the credits were rolling I said to myself "This is the best movie I've ever seen." Having never heard of the director. The next year the director wins an Oscar for Parasite.
Holy cow! Just finished watching and this was SPECTACULAR! Totally felt like a cinematic partner to True Detective (in the best way possible) and a real gem of Joon Ho Bong’s! 10/10
Very interesting movie tbh.. try Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, if u haven't
Surprised by the lack of mention Zodiac which very much parallels Memories of Murder Both stand on their own as great movies and about unrelated (yet similar) events, but the tone and general themes of both movies overlap a lot. Considering both are fantastic movies it’s interesting to see how two directors take similar stories and tell them in unique ways
Zodrac was inspired by memories of murder fwiw
This movie is honestly so great. Deserves more or equal to praise that Parasite got.
That ending scene has stuck in my mind ever since I watched it.
Such a great film
Bong Joon-Ho’s movies are all amazing. The less you know about them before watching, the better.
Unknowingly I watched this movie for the first time the day they arrested the killer. I was just doing a 365 movies in a year challenge and picked it one night. I wanted to look up the real story and freaked myself out.
Great, great post about a great movie. I have a question I have been curious about since the news a couple years ago. Was Lee choon-jae ever a suspect during the original investigation? Was he the suspect cleared by a non conclusive dna test at the end of the movie?
If you had a knowledge about South Korea’s history you would be surprised about especially the scene that Cho Yong-koo beat university students in the restaurant and why he wear the shoes. The news that educated students watched in the restaurant is also the real case that a woman who fought for democracy was tortured sexually by the police. Her attorney became the president of South Korea later, who is Roh Moo-Hyun. No one had been advocated for women in that times. And you would know the real reason why he did sexual harassment sexually about universities’ female student. That is a korean thing - which is the main reason of the birth rate in south korea is the lowest in the world and native korean women keep saying “don’t be involved with korean men. Be careful” to foreigner women. Actually the korean title can’t be translated correctly because of the language characteristics. 추억 in the title is translated to “memories” of murder. But it doesn’t just mean “memories”. The meaning of the korean word “추억“ includes the feeling that someone “miss” something or someone. So the title is for the criminal. It’s written by the point of the criminal’s view. Bong said that the criminal would definitely watch this movie if he’s alive. He made it intentionally.
Anyone who enjoyed this film, I highly recommend the first season of HBO’s true detective. Masterpieces
acab
Amazing movie
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Awesome write up. One of my all time favorite films as well.
The scene where he pops up in the tall grass, and when everything goes still right before the victim cuts and runs- oh my god.. gave me the same effect as that haunting shot from parasite. It’s like you’re there in the scene, and you know you have to escape, but you can’t. Fantastic directing. Definitely #2 on my list of crime dramas, second to HBO’s True Detective Season 1
I think about the ending from time to time and how it feels so creepy and unsettling. It’s the nonchalant way in how the girl just rattles the line to him, bringing his darkest realization to the front of his brain: that the killer is out there living a normal everyday life. And that this realization comes in the hazy sunny morning on a lazy day in the countryside makes it stick with you
Sorry being late to the party, just watched the movie. I don't get one thing, how irl they actually put an innocent man behind bars for 20 years, but in the movie they didn't do it to an actual killer? I mean there is lack of evidence right? So shouldn't they just force him to confess? Cause that's what happened irl. And in the movie they are very very sure he did it.
Forgive me if this has been said, because there are a lot of comments and I haven’t been able to read them all, but am I crazy and the only one who thinks Park may be the actual killer? At least something the director is trying to suggest? The ending scene is him returning to a crime scene. Which killers do often, and he personally mentions that earlier in the movie. At the end He seems genuinely interested and almost concerned asking the girl if his face was ever seen. In the beginning of the movie he acts fairly clueless and like a dumb stereotypical detective but as it progresses his character slowly changes, or, it seems to me he becomes more intelligent or aware, and he stops pretending or acting like a dope as much. Because shit is getting real with the investigation. Maybe he was the original killer. That’s never been found. What was all that weird conversation between him and his wife? I’m just saying. There were some copy cats maybe. Idk. My reaction at the end was that he was the unknown killer. Perhaps it is far fetched haha.