Memories of Murder (2003)

Bong Joon-ho uses a real Korean serial killer story as the basis for this always absorbing, terribly ironic and tragically hilarious crime drama that is both an intelligent social satire and a sharp political commentary, and he never ceases to surprise us until the very last shot.

"Do you see this kind of thing in Seoul often?" South Korea in 1986 under the military dictatorship: Two rural cops and a special detective from the capital investigate a series of brutal rape murder. Their crude measures become more desperate with each new corpse found. Based on a true case

REVIEW Set in 1986, "Memories of Murder" chronicles the first serial killer case in South Korean history. The victims are all beautiful young women whose bodies have been found raped and strangled in local fields and ditches. The initial agents who have been put on the case are two incompetent bunglers - one a dropout from college, the other a dropout from high school - who seem to have gleaned the majority of their investigative techniques from cheesy TV crime dramas. Enter Seo Tae-yoon, a forensic investigator from Seoul, who wrests control from the locals and brings some big-city know-how to the case. Given the grim subject matter at hand, it's amazing just how funny so much of this movie turns out to be. Blessed with a sly sardonic humor and a willingness to make fun of its characters even while evincing a great deal of affection for them, "Memories of Murder" plays less like a conventional cop movie and more like a regional comedy filled with rich insights into the subtle truths of human nature. The relationship between Seo, the investigator from Seoul, and Park Doo-man, the more rational of the two local officers, is intriguing and complex, as we watch them bicker and brawl and engage in petty power struggles, while slowly coming to realize that each has something of value to teach the other if only they can set aside their egos long enough to listen. Saddled with even-then antiquated technologies, Seo and Park are forced to rely on good old investigative footwork and informed intuition to try and solve the case. There are strong performances by one and all, and a fine sense of atmosphere in the setting. Those looking for a neatly tied-up resolution to the case may find themselves disappointed at movie's end. But the rich rewards of setting and character should be compensation enough.