Next to a flooded rice paddy, where rain pours endlessly, police and villagers are entangled. Bong Joon-ho's 'Memories of Murder' begins right in that muddy field. While Hollywood serial killer thrillers like 'Zodiac' or 'Se7en' start in the darkness of the city, 'Memories of Murder' begins in the bright sunlight of rural Korea, yet covered in unremovable mud.
Rural detective Park Du-man (Song Kang-ho) faces the first corpse in an atmosphere akin to a marketplace where children play and onlookers wander, despite being at a crime scene. It would be a shocking sight for a scientific investigation team from 'CSI' or 'Criminal Minds'. The woman's body is horrifically mutilated and discarded in the rice paddy, while detectives trample carelessly over the muddy ground where footprints are visible. Instead of scientific investigation, the rural detective is filled with confidence in catching the culprit through 'instinct', 'glances', and 'local gossip'. Park Du-man stands at the centre of this rustic worldview.
Du-man shouts at witnesses to 'open your eyes and look' instead of using a profiler's hypnosis, and he resorts to kicking and violence against those he suspects. For him, investigation is less about the logical profiling of 'Mindhunter' and more about the 'talent for picking out the ill-mannered'. It’s a bizarre mix of comedy and tragedy, as if Inspector Clouseau from 'The Pink Panther' were handling a real murder case.
By his side is his colleague, detective Jo Yong-gu (Kim Roe-ha), who employs even more primal violence. Torture-like beatings and coercing false confessions are the means they routinely use. If the CIA torture scenes in the 'Bourne' series are cinematic exaggerations, the police violence in 'Memories of Murder' is so realistic that it becomes even more uncomfortable. Yet, they believe themselves to be on the side of 'justice'. Until a serial murder occurs in their small rural village, that belief had never been significantly shaken.
However, on a rainy day, the atmosphere changes as a series of brutal murders targeting women occur. On a night when a specific song plays on the radio, a woman in a red dress disappears, and the next day, without fail, a body is discovered. Like the coded letters in 'Zodiac', this pattern is the signature of the culprit. The case gradually reveals its structure, and the village becomes gripped by fear, akin to the 'Salem witch trials'.
Pressure mounts from above, and the media mocks the incompetent police as if rating a film in 'Empire', covering the case extensively. Amidst this, Seo Tae-yoon (Kim Sang-kyung), dispatched from Seoul, appears. His investigative methods are the complete opposite of Du-man's, akin to Sherlock Holmes and Watson. He seals off the crime scene with tape, emphasising hypotheses, logic, and data analysis. The rationality of Seoul and the instinctive investigation of the countryside come under one roof, gradually increasing the tension within the investigation team.
Du-man and Tae-yoon initially distrust each other thoroughly. To Du-man, Tae-yoon is a city detective like Sheldon from 'The Big Bang Theory', who is merely pretending to be smart, while to Tae-yoon, Du-man is just a rural detective like a zombie suppression member from 'The Walking Dead', who hits people without evidence. However, the serial murders leave no room for either of their egos to hide.
Bodies continue to be discovered, and the seemingly strong suspects repeatedly turn out to have alibis, or only mentally unstable individuals like Raymond from 'Rain Man' remain as the case slips away. In the process, the police's violence and incompetence, along with the atmosphere of the time, are starkly revealed. Dark roads with insufficient streetlights, railway tracks cutting between factories, and the culture of escorting women home become survival strategies that fill the screen. If New York in 'Taxi Driver' was a city of crime, the Hwaseong of 'Memories of Murder' is a rural area where safety has vanished.
As the serial murders continue, the anxiety within the police reaches a boiling point. Du-man becomes increasingly obsessed with his only weapon, the instinct that 'you can tell just by looking at a face', while Tae-yoon struggles to maintain his composure but reveals cracks in the face of contradictory evidence and investigations. It feels as if all the characters in the film are floundering in a massive fog, like the black hole in 'Interstellar'.
The audience feels as if someone might be the culprit, only to be thrown back into confusion by the next scene revealing a crumbling alibi. There is no clear twist like in 'The Usual Suspects', nor does it push moral dilemmas to the extreme like 'Prisoners'. The investigation seems to keep going in circles, yet at the centre of that circle are always the tragically discarded bodies of the victims.
As the film progresses into the second half, it focuses on the inner changes of the two detectives, Du-man and Tae-yoon. Initially mocking each other, they gradually rush in one direction under the obsession of “this might really be the guy”. Like Batman in 'The Dark Knight' chasing the Joker, they too chase an invisible culprit. Physical evidence is lacking, scientific investigation is hindered by the limitations of the era, and that void is filled with the emotions and violence of the two men.
In the scenes where they finally confront 'one guy', the film raises all the tension it has built up at once. However, 'Memories of Murder' does not promise the cathartic resolution of 'Dirty Harry' or the perfect justice of 'The Silence of the Lambs'. What the ending and the final gaze mean is ultimately left as a question for the audience to ponder as they leave the theatre. That last glance is as deeply etched in memory as the gaze Roy Batty showed before dying in 'Blade Runner'.
Completing the Dish with 'Bongtail' Based on True Events
The artistic value of 'Memories of Murder' lies in its ability to push the questions beyond the true story it is based on. In the late 1980s, the heavy subject of the real Hwaseong serial murders is translated by director Bong Joon-ho not as a simple reproduction or sensational thriller like David Fincher's 'Zodiac', but as a 'period piece and human drama'.
The rural setting of Hwaseong in the film serves as an image akin to the back alleys of modern Korean history. During the late military regime, the police organization had not yet fully absorbed the winds of democratization, the investigative practices lacked human rights concepts, and the societal atmosphere was insensitive to issues of sexual violence and women's safety. If 'Mad Men' captured the sexism of 1960s America, 'Memories of Murder' encapsulates the indifference to women's safety in 1980s Korea. Instead of directly critiquing these elements, the film shows the air of that era head-on, leaving the audience to judge.
The power of direction shines in the details. Scenes like the rain-soaked rice paddy, smoke rising from factory chimneys, and the anxiety seeping through elementary school students heading on a school trip are not just backgrounds but devices that adjust the emotional tone. The setting of rain falling every night when the incidents occur is genre-wise symbolic like the perpetual rain in 'Blade Runner', and functionally serves as an element that washes away evidence.
The scenes of detectives searching the crime scene appear as futile struggles to chase 'the truth that is already being erased'. Like Sisyphus pushing a boulder uphill, the detectives chase the disappearing evidence. This time and space do not remain just a 'tale of old times' for today's audience. It evokes the shadows of Korean society that still continue somewhere. While 'Parasite' dealt with contemporary class issues, 'Memories of Murder' addresses the systemic issues of the past. And that past is still ongoing.
The performances of the actors are nothing short of 'Daniel Day-Lewis' level. Song Kang-ho's portrayal of Park Du-man initially evokes laughter as a bumbling rural detective like Inspector Clouseau from 'The Pink Panther', but as time goes on, he bears the weight of the tragedy born from that incompetence. His gaze is completely different from the beginning to the end of the film.
The relaxed eyes of the beginning transform into a depth filled with fear, guilt, anger, and despair in the latter half. Just as Travis Bickle in 'Taxi Driver' descends into madness, Du-man too sinks into a swamp of obsession. Seo Tae-yoon, played by Kim Sang-kyung, appears as a model of Seoul's 'coldness', but ultimately becomes consumed by the case. While Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock views the case with emotional detachment, Kim Sang-kyung's Tae-yoon suppresses his emotions only to eventually explode.
When the face that had been suppressing emotions suddenly bursts forth with unbearable rage, the audience feels that this film is not just a simple investigation drama. The presence of supporting characters is also strong. Detective Jo Yong-gu's violence and loyalty, along with the anxious expressions of suspicious suspects, evoke 'the face of this era' throughout the film.
One reason this work is loved by the public is that it excellently balances genre fun with the chill of an unsolved case. Slapstick scenes that induce laughter, comedic landscapes akin to 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' in a rural police station, and rustic dialogues are appropriately placed, giving the audience a moment to breathe.
However, that laughter does not last long. The soon-to-appear corpses and the stories of the victims, along with the ongoing investigation, turn the audience's laughter into guilt. This rhythm creates the unique tone of 'Memories of Murder'. A strange feeling that makes one feel as if they are quickly burning up even while laughing. While 'Jojo Rabbit' mixes comedy and tragedy, 'Memories of Murder' mixes slapstick and horror.
Another important point is that the film does not present a 'correct answer'. It does not provide a definitive answer to who the culprit is, whether the police's choices were right, or what this case has left us. Like the spinning top in 'Inception', the final scene leaves questions for the audience. Instead, it poses questions to each viewer.
Questions like, “Are we really different from that era?” and “Are we, in different ways, neglecting someone’s tragedy?” This openness makes the film endlessly rewatchable like 'Citizen Kane'. Depending on the time and the viewer's age, the scenes and emotions that capture attention change.
Chilling yet somewhat bittersweet
If you are looking for a well-made investigative thriller like 'Zodiac', 'Se7en', or 'The Silence of the Lambs', 'Memories of Murder' is almost a must-watch. Beyond the simple fun of deducing 'who the culprit is', it allows you to taste the human figures and the air of the era revealed in the investigative process. The process of looking at the gaps between puzzle pieces will be more interesting than piecing the puzzle together.
Additionally, for those who want to look back at Korea's past from a slightly different angle, this film is highly recommended. Instead of the late 1980s as presented in history textbooks or documentaries like 'I Want to Know That', you will confront the memories of 'life history' realised through rural police stations, rice paddies, factories, and alleyways. And within that, you may discover the structural problems that still repeat today. The issues the film touches upon, including the police and judicial systems, women's safety, and media reporting methods, are broader and deeper than one might think.
Finally, for audiences interested in the helplessness and obsession of humans, and the struggle to find meaning within that, films like 'The Wrestler' or 'Whiplash' will leave a lasting impression. After watching this film, the line and gaze that Park Du-man throws at the end are likely to linger in your mind.
That gaze is directed not only at the culprit of the unsolved case but perhaps also at us outside the screen. This film relentlessly and persistently questions, “What did we do back then, and what are we doing now?” For those who want to stand face to face with such questions at least once, 'Memories of Murder' remains a valid and will continue to be a summoned work. Although the real culprit was caught in 2019, the questions posed by the film are still waiting for answers.
