#park no-shik

[blackramhall]

살인의 추억 - Memories of Murder Bong Joon-ho (2003)

val3n_roig

[rookie-critic]

Memories of Murder (2003, dir. Bong Joon-ho) - review by Rookie-Critic

Prior to 2019 (really 2020, if we want to get really specific) there probably weren't a lot of people in the States who could tell you who Bong Joon-ho is if pressed. Nowadays, after Bong's historic first non-English language Best Picture win for Parasite, most people would at least identify the name as familiar, and for good reason. Parasite is undoubtedly amazing; its message is both regionless and timeless, it has superb acting and brilliant cinematography, it is one of the best films of the modern era, if not any era. However, prior to Parasite, back in the days when Bong's fanbase outside of his native South Korea was limited to foreign film lovers and people who really liked Snowpiercer, most people would probably point to his breakout film, Memories of Murder, as his best work, and for a lot of the same reasons that people point to Parasite as his best now.

I'm not entirely sure why it has taken me so long to sit down and watch this considering how much I've enjoyed the other films of his that I've seen, but I'm glad I finally did. Following the true story of the detectives that investigated the Hwaseong serial murders of the mid-80s to the mid-90s, the film works as both a gripping crime thriller and a social satire of the failings of the legal system and the corrupt nature of a lot of its employees. One of our protagonists, Detective Park Doo-man (played brilliantly as always be Song Kang-ho) as well as his partner Detective Cho Yong-koo, are horrible police officers. They fake evidence, they torture victims until they'll confess to anything to make it stop, and they scoff at real investigative discoveries and excuse them as the other detectives "watching too many crime movies" (which in and of itself is an amazing line that both pokes fun at and winks a respectful eye towards the crime films that it follows in the legacy of); all they care about is putting someone away, regardless of if the person is actually guilty of the crime they're accused of committing or not. You can watch the film purely from a plot perspective and be entertained and engrossed, but much like Parasite, the true genius of it lies within this satirical commentary.

The knowledge that maybe the killer could have been stopped, victims could have been saved, if more resources had been poured into actually searching for the real killer instead of trying to put away people who obviously had nothing to do with it is maddening, but somehow Bong is able to inject humor throughout the film that makes all of these frustrating people and darker moments have a brief sense of levity without taking away from the nature of the subject matter. It's truly amazing the way he is able to craft stories that are not only interesting from a surface level perspective, but that contain darker themes and complex social commentary that even casual moviegoers can pick up on and appreciate, and then even with all of that blend comedy and drama so seamlessly you rarely notice the change. Another element of the film that I personally found brilliant, and that I briefly mentioned above, is the way that it seems to be a love letter to the crime dramas/thrillers that came before it and a criticism of them at the same time. If you've been following my reviews for awhile, you'll know how deeply I appreciate films that are able to strike that balance (Scream, Nope, etc.). The ability to acknowledge the problems with a genre without completely dismissing the films that portray those flaws as lesser or bad is something that just appeals to me on such a core level. This may just sound like a meeting of the Bong Joon-ho Fan Club, but it is truly awe-inspiring that he can make a film that has something for everyone in it, and can make everyone enjoy the other bits that, in any other movie, they may not have.

Now, Memories of Murder isn't perfect, it is only Bong's second film and some of those early film maker pitfalls exist here. A lot of the first half of the movie tends to drag a bit, and there may be certain scenes that could have cut or sequences that could have been re-edited to keep that sense of urgency (or maybe even the lack thereof on the part of the detectives) a little more present and flowing. Also, and I know I just got done ranting about how great this exact quality was, but sometimes the injection of humor could overtake the film a little too much. It doesn't happen but maybe once or twice, but I did take note of those moments as something that stood out to me, at least. Outside of these few kinks, Memories of Murder just further proves that Bong Joon-ho just knows what he's doing, and I can safely add another film to the "great" column of his filmography, and hopefully soon I can finish out watching the rest of them.

Score: 9/10

Currently streaming on Hulu.

[swampflix]

Memories of Murder (2003)

Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 feature 살인의 추억 (Memories of Murder) is an example of a familiar genre made unfamiliar in its trappings, at least at first. Initially, this is because it is set in the yesteryear of 1986—and, as L.P. Hartley noted in his 1953 novel The Go-Between, “the past is a foreign country” where things are done differently—but also because it takes place in the South Korean city of…

[letterboxd-loggd]

Memories of Murder (살인의 추억) (Salinui chueok) (2003) Bong Joon-ho

December 28th 2022

[xiaolanhua]

Strong Girl Nam Soon (2023) – Ep. 3 Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017) – Ep. 16

[pudding-bitches]

the loserism is high with these mfs

[goyurim]

park hyung shik is such a kdrama male lead like he plays these cringey yet hilarious, funny but emotional, suave yet sweet, rich and successful characters so well. he's so annoying but strangely charming and i am obsessed

[dramaism]

#always there to calm each other down

[xxbeyondangelsxx]

Yeongwoo & Haneul ● Ep 10: First Kiss

Source: Doctor Slump/JTBC/Netflix

[captainjoongki]

jeong woo in every other scene of doctor slump

like one thing about park hyung shik is that he WILL play a delulu character in love

[jugeullae]

Squad.

JINNY'S KITCHEN 2 (2024)

[dreamingsnowflake2013]

The best couple of 2017 comes back to rule 2023!

source: PBY's IG

[stormdragon23]

Monarch/Ruler Successors AU

This is just my personal headcanons on this AU since I have my own take

Kind of a mashup of others' ideas honestly, plus a couple of my own though I think they came from one person in particular

Very subject to change as I read Ragnarok. And when I'm finally able to play the game

Monarchs:

Choi Jong-In as The Monarch of Destruction, the King of Dragons

Baek Yoon-Ho as The Monarch of Fangs, the King of Beasts

Hwang Dong-Soo as The Monarch of the Iron Body, the King of Monstrous Humanoids

Kang Tae-Shik as The Monarch of Transfiguration, the King of Demonic Spectres

Eun-Seok as The Monarch of Frost, the King of the Snow Folk

Lim Tae-Gyu as The Monarch of the Beginning, the King of Giants

Goto Ryuji as The Monarch of White Flames, the King of Demons

Park Hee-Jin as The Monarch of Plagues, the Queen of Insects

Ruler Vessels:

Cha Hae-In

Min Byung-Gyu

Thomas Andre

Liu Zhigang

Christopher Reed > Lennart Niermann

Sung Il-Hwan

Go Gunhee > Woo Jin-Chul

Siddharth Bachchan (Don't have a pic for him, but that's not my fault)

Open to questions. Because I don't know what else to say

[everythingsouthasian]

PARK HYUNG-SHIK as YEO JEONG-WOO in DOCTOR SLUMP 닥터슬럼프 (2024) dir. Oh Hyun-jong

[xiaolanhua]

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017) – Ep. 5 Strong Girl Nam Soon (2023) – Ep. 3

[junkobato]

BEST KDRAMA IN 2024✨ (pt 1)

Which one is your favorite so far? ☺️