Joon-ho Bong directs "Memories of Murder". A police procedural, the film's first act flows along conventional lines. Here a murder takes place and detective Park Doo-Man is assigned to the case. He's a hotshot cop, hardworking and determined, who thinks he can spot a criminal simply by "looking into their eyes". Joon-ho Bong, however, repeatedly questions Park's abilities. Early in the film, for example, Park's commander points at two men at the far side of a room and asks Park to pick out the criminal. Park looks deeply into each man's eyes, but before he gives his answer, the director cuts to black. We assume that Park has picked the right guy.
But 20 minutes into the film, and our faith in Park begins to crumble. Indeed, he begins to come across as a bit of an idiot. He's deeply superstitious, relies on fortune tellers, believes in hunches, and is highly insecure.
At this point the film introduces another detective. His name is Sae Yoon, and he's been assigned to help Park on his case. The film's second act is thus a repetition of the first act, Sae Yoon re-enacting all the scenes that we just witnessed Park do. The way Park handles the film's first crime scene is contrasted with how Sae Yoon handles the film's second crime scene. The way Park handles an interrogation is contrasted with how Sae Yoon handles an interrogation. In seeing how a methodical, clever and genuinely skilled detective like Sae Yoon handles his job, the audience is forced to reconsider their views of Park. Maybe Park wasn't a hotshot cop after all. The juxtaposition between the way the two men handle the film's first two murders forces us to re-evaluate our perceptions.
This notion of reassessing what our eyes see, is constant throughout the film. A mentally ill kid seems like a likely suspect, but is actually not. A local pervert seems like the killer, but is actually a caring husband. An effeminate loner may be the rapist, but DNA samples prove otherwise. Detective Sae Yoon, himself a "by the books" cop, eventually becomes a violent, loose cannon, determined to throw away rules and regulations based on a hunch, whilst Park, the very cop who consults shamans and witch doctors and stages false confessions, becomes the film's voice of law-abiding righteousness.
And so it is the way the film's characters are constantly in a state of moral flux that makes "Memories of Murder" so exciting. The audience is constantly asked to "look the characters in the eyes" and reassess what they're seeing.
But what makes the film great is its ending. If surface perceptions are inadequate, then how can we truly understand another human being? If personal emotions get in the way of objective truth, how can we ever trust our own acuity? And so because the criminal is never identified or caught, suddenly everyone is guilty. There can be no closure because everyone, police included, is implicated. Watch how the director contrasts the film's first shot (the innocence of a child's face) with the film's final shot (the retired face of detective Frank staring down the camera and directly at the audience). Frank's catch phrase, "look into my eyes", now takes on a whole new level of meaning. He's a cop again, and everyone including we the audience are now under suspicion.
And so while most serial killer films end with closure, or in the case of the recent "Zodiac", with the comfortable knowledge that our killer is now old and largely impotent, "Memories of Murder" leaves us on a note of profound paranoia. We're left uncomfortable, disturbed, and everyone now seems a potential suspect.
8.5/10 – Though it isn't brave enough to stray far from genre conventions, this is a stylish, engrossing film. Worth two viewings.
But 20 minutes into the film, and our faith in Park begins to crumble. Indeed, he begins to come across as a bit of an idiot. He's deeply superstitious, relies on fortune tellers, believes in hunches, and is highly insecure.
At this point the film introduces another detective. His name is Sae Yoon, and he's been assigned to help Park on his case. The film's second act is thus a repetition of the first act, Sae Yoon re-enacting all the scenes that we just witnessed Park do. The way Park handles the film's first crime scene is contrasted with how Sae Yoon handles the film's second crime scene. The way Park handles an interrogation is contrasted with how Sae Yoon handles an interrogation. In seeing how a methodical, clever and genuinely skilled detective like Sae Yoon handles his job, the audience is forced to reconsider their views of Park. Maybe Park wasn't a hotshot cop after all. The juxtaposition between the way the two men handle the film's first two murders forces us to re-evaluate our perceptions.
This notion of reassessing what our eyes see, is constant throughout the film. A mentally ill kid seems like a likely suspect, but is actually not. A local pervert seems like the killer, but is actually a caring husband. An effeminate loner may be the rapist, but DNA samples prove otherwise. Detective Sae Yoon, himself a "by the books" cop, eventually becomes a violent, loose cannon, determined to throw away rules and regulations based on a hunch, whilst Park, the very cop who consults shamans and witch doctors and stages false confessions, becomes the film's voice of law-abiding righteousness.
And so it is the way the film's characters are constantly in a state of moral flux that makes "Memories of Murder" so exciting. The audience is constantly asked to "look the characters in the eyes" and reassess what they're seeing.
But what makes the film great is its ending. If surface perceptions are inadequate, then how can we truly understand another human being? If personal emotions get in the way of objective truth, how can we ever trust our own acuity? And so because the criminal is never identified or caught, suddenly everyone is guilty. There can be no closure because everyone, police included, is implicated. Watch how the director contrasts the film's first shot (the innocence of a child's face) with the film's final shot (the retired face of detective Frank staring down the camera and directly at the audience). Frank's catch phrase, "look into my eyes", now takes on a whole new level of meaning. He's a cop again, and everyone including we the audience are now under suspicion.
And so while most serial killer films end with closure, or in the case of the recent "Zodiac", with the comfortable knowledge that our killer is now old and largely impotent, "Memories of Murder" leaves us on a note of profound paranoia. We're left uncomfortable, disturbed, and everyone now seems a potential suspect.
8.5/10 – Though it isn't brave enough to stray far from genre conventions, this is a stylish, engrossing film. Worth two viewings.