Memoir of a Murderer (2017) User Reviews

Breathtaking, mindbending storytelling!

[nidhunmoviebuff · 8/10 · 19 September 2021]

One of the biggest reasons other than availability in OTT that this classic has been missed en large by Indian audiences is that it is confused with Bong Joon-ho's immortal 2003 blockbuster Memories of Murder.

While Won Shin-yun's 2017 tale does not rise up to that level, it is nevertheless a compelling, gut-wrenching tale of deceit, violence and outright blatant evil that will constantly keep you guessing.

The brilliant Sol Kyung-gu plays a retired serial killer who is suffering from bouts of dementia and the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. He encounters another serial killer in the city only to have no one believe him because of his illness and to add insult to injury, the same killer starts to pursue his daughter as a love interest.

The story moves at breakneck speed from there, constantly throwing up unexpected surprises and twists till the audience is as confused and disoriented as the lead character with his constant memory lapses.

Following the same non-linear narrative as Memento (2000), the director excels at building up the suspense without ever dragging the narrative, threading the needle and keeping the audience on a knife edge.

A masterclass in storytelling among Korean thrillers. Watch the full director's cut if you want your mind blown again.

Highly recommended!

Excellent mystery thriller.

[paulclaassen · 7/10 · 9 April 2020]

Not to be confused with the 2017 Japanese film 'Memoirs of a Murderer'.

A very clever script delivers a nail-biting movie, with a great premise. 'Memoir of a Murderer' is an interesting mystery thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. The fact that Byung-su - excellently portrayed by Kyung-gu Sol - suffers from dementia, adds to the suspense. As the film progresses one wonders whether the reality is indeed as he perceives it to be. Is Buyung-su's mind really playing tricks on him, or does he actually remember events as they happened? This mystery intensifies towards the end as the film is filled with twists and surprises.

'Memoir of a Murderer' is another perfect example of great South Korean cinema. I enjoy the unpredictability of their films, and this is no exception. Brilliant!

Memento meets Dexter

[Jithindurden · 8/10 · 30 November 2017]

Memento meets Dexter which at times reminds of The Wailing and Insomnia. Byung-Su is a former serial killer who is living with his daughter and has got Alzheimer's disease. When new killings start to happen he suspects a young police inspector to be the culprit but not sure if he himself has been doing the murders and forgetting it. Sul Kyoung-Gu gives an incredible performance as Byung-Su and carries the whole film. The film keeps the audience guessing what's actually happening, a bit too much. The effect of domestic violence and relationships are touched upon. The mysterious mood is kept throughout the film which was effective in engaging the audience.

too many reversals in the plot make the audience feel tired

[yoggwork · 7/10 · 18 February 2019]

The creativity of the whole plot is similar to "Memory Fragments", but too many reversals in the plot make the audience feel tired and weaken the theme. Especially in the end, we can't understand why we need to do more.

One more cut is the deepest

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 3 December 2021]

I can only assume that to be true - I only watched the theatrical cut. Which is more than fine - don't get me wrong, but from what I've read about the Directors cut ... that is where the money is at. Or the cuts ... or the action ... or the extended ending for that matter.

Having said all that, the movie is another great example of an excellent (thriller) movie from South Korea. I am almost surprised I haven't heard anything about an American Remake yet. They probably can't keep up remaking those great movies ... sometimes getting them (somewhat) right, but also often just plainly failing in getting to the core that made movies like this one great.

Excellent performances and a moral complexity that will make your head spin. And that is without all the narration, the what is real and what is not. Just when you think you've guessed everything right ... another twist will sweep you of your feet. But it is the humanity of the story, it is the character driven (great) acting that will keep you on the edge of your seat. And scenes where a match lights up the dark revealing ... something "sinister". And being more shocking (as in horror) than your average horror movie from the States.

So while I have unfortunately not seen the Directors cut (yet), I can only imagine I would like it even better and go the full 10/10 on it ... be it as it may, this is an excellent watch as well.

Decent attempt at depicting dementia in a thriller but suffers from poor writing and unnecessary length

[CrazyCultFilms · 6/10 · 11 October 2017]

Honestly the journey and structure of this film is great at the start but becomes a bit lost and over convoluted further into the story. The reason for this I believe is a lack of focused writing. Playing with the time and memory lapses of Byung-soo and how it relates to trying to catch his daughter's bf is a good idea and I think there are parts where it was very well executed.

However there were also parts where it was badly executed and parts where the story becomes convoluted without any real reason.

The audience attention is lost because of this lack of focus and instead you are left a bit confused about why certain scenes happened instead of gripped throughout. This confusion remains at the end of the film.

Also the film commits the crime of continuing after the story ends, dragging on an extra 15 mins or so that could easily have been cut from the end.

The concept is interesting and there's certainly parts where the story is engaging but it's not as well brought together as one would hope.

Memoir of a Murderer Review: An unpredictable delight!

[Achyut_Prashast_Singh · 10/10 · 7 November 2017]

Movie: Memoir of a Murderer (15)

Rating: 5/5

This film, in short is a masterpiece. It unfolds in an extremely amazing manner and grips you right from the beginning. The scripting is so watertight that it demands your full attention. Not a single second is wasted in introducing and setting up the story, and the production values too are top notch.

MEMOIR OF A MURDERER is undoubtedly a very different sort of film. For the most part, it keeps you tensed and makes you interested in the screenplay. The film moves with a good pace, and there's hardly any unnecessary scene in the entire duration. The thrills are highly impressive and the emotional scenes too are well handled.

Sol Kyung-gu delivers a first-rate act. This is his first film I've seen and in many scenes he simply outdoes many South Korean actors. He never shows any inconsistency in the performance and is an actor to watch out for. Another praise to Kim Nam-gil, who wonderfully plays the character he's given. He's superb and is different in the portrayal of the kind of role he plays. Seolhyun is decent. Oh Dal-su is excellent as always.

There's some good humour which had me laughing out loud. The action is undoubtedly very well crafted and the final block will have the action buffs cheering up with energy. The cinematography is splendid and the visual/special effects are a treat to watch.

Director Shin-yeon Won makes the film not just enjoyable, but also a memorable one. The writers Jo-yun Hwang and Young-ha Kim also have done an excellent job. The final shot is totally jaw-dropping and is not to be missed.

MEMOIR OF A MURDERER is a marvellous and watertight action thriller which is a must see for South Korean movie lovers as well as those who love thrillers, dramas and action films. The film is a class apart and seriously, I enjoyed it more than any other South Korean action thriller. Now I'm waiting to watch the director's cut soon.

Koreans know how to make a good movie.

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 23 July 2018]

A couple of days ago I reviewed a Japanese movie, with the lowest rating possible, and there I stated that I rarely come across good Asian movies, unless they are Korean, and once again it's been proven right. What a difference when you watch a Korean and a Japanese movie. Memoir Of A Murderer (or Salinjaui Gieokbeob) is a movie with surprisingly good twists and turns. The acting is much better than any Japanese movie where they tend to overact all the time. I wouldn't score this movie high for the acting but for the story itself, which is entertaining to follow and with a good mystery feeling. So once again I'm impressed by the Korean movie makers, clearly the best out of Asia.

It was awesome

[Misss25 · 9/10 · 31 March 2021]

Im stunned! I really didn't have any clue how the movie gonna end up. One thing I have to say, it's gonna blow your mind. I would have rated this 10/10 but I really didn't get the ending. It's so confusing...

Could've been an easy 8, but instead gets a 7.

[GhostFoxX · 7/10 · 18 September 2022]

Honestly, like I said, it's a good film but could've been better.

A good storyline combined with even better storytelling will make you feel totally hooked to the plot. You'll find yourself asking "Wait what?! Now happens next??" - after all, that is what we all like about good mystery thrillers, right? Well, this one is no exception. Good news is, there are multiple twists in it - making it even more watch worthy.

But unfortunately, although the plot that was being developed initially would seem perfectly balanced and flawless, it eventually loses the flow somewhere in the second hour - and continues to do so until the end. I was questioning myself throughout the first one hour "This one surely should've had a higher rating. Why this low?" Well, my take is that the disrupted flow is to blame for that.

Anyway, it's still a good watch. Definitely worth trying! Happy watching :)

Another excellent South Korean film

[AJ_McAninch · 8/10 · 24 March 2019]

The lead is one of SK's finest actors, and the actor who plays the younger villain is also extraordinarily talented. The stalking and fight scenes are well executed and become vicious as they would between two serial killers. Writing, direction, and acting are all excellent, though there are definitely some plot holes, especially about the "daughter", and a rather strange open-ended bit at the end. Still, this is a fine movie: SK simply knows how to make them.

We might never know the truth

[hi_im_manic · 7/10 · 7 November 2017]

Score 6.7/10

!*SPOILERS*! !*SPOILERS*! !*SPOILERS*!

It's refreshing that our protagonist has Alzheimer's Dementia yet isn't portrayed as some pitiful victim of the condition. Byung-su's mind was disappearing, but his body...his hands were still finely attuned to the act of murder as though it were a natural reflex.

Age, injuries from an old car accident, and his love for his 18 year old daughter deter him from murdering anymore. Murder, as he described, came naturally to him. He was born that way. He murdered those that he considered to be scumbags, he was taking out the trash. His victims were bad people who didn't deserve to live. So, Byung-su begins to type a detailed memoir of his life and crimes.

It is said by his caregiver that her prayers were answered by his worsening condition, he could now forget the terrible things that he had committed and be naive and innocent like a child again.

When journalists report several deaths that were similar to his own m.o., Byung-su begins to wonder if he's the culprit. Is he murdering again without any memories of the events?

He travels to an exceptionally remote bamboo forest where he once buried his victims in order to investigate. As fate would have it, he's involved in a car accident in this very isolated area. Blood drips from the damaged rear-end of a young man's car, and inside the trunk Byung-su see's a duffle bag soaked in blood. He slyly swabs the blood with a napkin in order for his police officer pal to examine it. The other driver (Tae-ju) explains that it's a dead deer. Byung-su knows Tae-ju's lying and he's a copy-catting fellow serial killer.

Byung-su struggles to differentiate reality from fantasy. Delusions, black-outs and hallucinations dominate his failing consciousness. He utilizes a hand-held recorder to capture important events and conversations. The audience experiences his confusion and fantasies just as Byung-su does. It is something like an LSD trip. Sometimes he's lucid, yet his memory is foggy at best. He experiences many flashbacks but cannot be certain if his recollections are accurate. Sometimes our suspicious antagonist seems trustworthy and innocent. He's employed as a police officer and begins dating Byung-su's teen-aged daughter. He treats her very well and the pair fall madly in love. Byung-su is far from enthusiastic about this.

This film may be confusing ride for many people, but it's a treat to be able to experience the world as a person with this condition does. It was well done and comprehensible in my experience. what's real, what's just paranoia? This film really demands your attention, I did this and wasn't too confounded by it.

This is a Korean film and the dialogue is Korean. There are accurate English subtitles. The acting is so superb that subtitles aren't even warranted for some scenes. Emotions are expressed very well through body language and voice tone.

The fight scenes and one of the car accident scenes were very intense. They were so intense that I can't imagine the actors (or stunt doubles) walking away without significant injuries. The director did a good job choosing locations and provoking strong performances from each actor/actress. The special effects and makeup artists fullassed it, their attention to detail was obvious by a raw realisticness. It's visually interesting and what we see of the landscape is fairly well done. Camera work was fine with ideal placement and adequate lighting. There's little to no music, and gore isn't excessive. The gore we do see is informational, helping the story to move along.

The story is engaging but has numerous plot holes. For example: How and when he acquired Eun-hee (his "daughter") is never explained. We can only assume that her parents were rotten people that he did away with, and he "adopted" their little toddler. It's all- together a nicely produced Asian thriller that I'd certainly recommend to friends.

I was with it til the last twist...

[Sejian · 3/10 · 6 February 2022]

Then it managed to drop my rating from a 10 to a 6, but I really want to give it a 3.

I get what they were going for, it's great, but the overly incompetent police trope is done way too much. I don't like it, I can't stand it, and this movie does it repeatedly.

I've over-analyzed the ending waay too much.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Why are the cops so incompetent? Byeong-man goes to convince Byung-su to turn himself in because they're friends. He suspects Byung-su is a serial killer resurgent, yet goes alone and is attacked while on the phone with Tae-ju. He mentions he called for back-up. Tae-ju, like a complete moron, rushes over to the house alone and gets himself killed by Byung-su. It's implied Tae-ju is a fair distance away possibly with Eun-hee, yet after killing Tae-ju, Byung-su has enough time to ditch his car and body and get back to the house before back-up finally arrives. I'm sorry, but what? In the following interview it is stated that Eun-hee stopped talking during her interview and it appears she has aphasia. Stopped talking means she was talking at some point, right? So why doesn't she immediately say Byung-su's story is BS? This is the only time it's implied that Eun-hee is mentally impaired, which is fine, except Byeong-man, while still alive and on the phone with Tae-ju expresses hope that Tae-ju and Eun-hee can help convince Byung-su to confess. If she's that badly off, how did either of these fools expect her to be of any help? Are we to believe they never actually met her?

Please, for the sake of my fleeting 10 rating, stop with the third-times-the-charm twists! I was fine with twist one, which had him killing his not-my-daughter. I was elated with twist two, which had him rescuing his not-my-daughter. Twist three's incompetent cops are really incompetent was just too much twisting!

Maybe I'm over-reacting because I liked Byung-su's character. It's possible. It's also possible the ending is just really bad.

Screw it, I'm giving this a 3. It pissed me off.

Engaging thriller more than horror

[lilydavis-46130 · 8/10 · 26 February 2018]

Excellent acting from the leads and a story that doesn't go in a straight line. The main character has dementia and his memory of events can't be relied upon or can it? That's the premise of this movie. Engaging from the first scene with interesting characters. I definitely recommend this is a Netflix movie.

Extraordinary film, a Masterpiece

[miguelramosl · 10/10 · 12 July 2018]

We had never seen a S.Korean film and went only by the trailer. The whole thing was a fabulous surprise. Excellent story, writing, direction, art-direction and most certainly, excellent acting by all. The star, Kyung-gu Sol, is a superb actor who handled the different aspects of dementia and Alzheimer's beautifully, but all of the others are incredibly good as well.

You cannot miss this film. We first had to get the right subtitles, but once they were in place, we thoroughly enjoyed the movie. We can even say it is a Masterpiece

Grabs You & Doesn't Let Go

[Foutainoflife · 8/10 · 6 December 2018]

I really enjoyed this film. I was struck with interest from the beginning and never lost interest. It is about a former serial killer who is diagnosed with dementia. He has the unfortunate coincidence of being in a fender bender with a man that he automatically senses to be an active serial killer. It isn't long before active serial killer takes notice of the elder man's daughter and a suspenseful struggle to keep his daughter safe, whilst losing his memory, ensues.

I thought this was a well rounded thriller. The acting, scripting a filming was all done well. I can't complain about much of anything other than wanting to know more of our elder killer's victims and wishing there would've been more to the ending. This is a solid movie though. Totally worth the watch.

amazing thriller - but the viewer would have to find the hidden (gem) version

[sahasumit-48557 · 9/10 · 8 June 2020]

So, just finished this amazing thriller which combines a decent serial killer plot with a near perfect depiction of dementia and the reality of losing ones own personality, along with the frailty it has got.

But, there's one big catch. apparently there are two versions of the movie, while the original holds it own at around 6/7 the Directors Cut (titled- Memoir of Murderer: Another Memory) takes the story to new heights a different ending (alongside a few select scenes inserted along the storytelling).

So in summary, both the movie shares a common 95% footage, with DC having some extras, and changes the entire POV of the story. I presume the Directors Cut version was not published/distributed with as much enthusiasm as the original one, but why that is beyond me, because the DC version contains the true key pieces that binds the narrative together. Highly recommended to see the DC version if you're likely to see just any one. Enjoy. :)

Great Premise Poorly Executed

[MogwaiMovieReviews · 4/10 · 16 September 2018]

"A former serial killer with Alzheimer's fights to protect his daughter from her psychotic boyfriend."

How can you not want to see that film? Well, that's what I thought, anyway.

It seems though, that once the makers came up with the pitch for the movie, they simply thought it would write itself, and unfortunately it didn't. The dialogue is laughably poor at points, and while at least some of this might be poor translation, a lot of it is clearly just sloppy writing. Much of the plot seems a badly thought-out ragbag of scenes from other Korean and non-Korean movies - Memento in particular - that don't have any particular relevance or resonance. The main character is good but behaves in ways that are frustratingly inconsistent and lead nowhere (the delayed laughing, for instance). Every other character is either weakly written, implausible or out of place.

It's not a startlingly terrible film, just dull and badly done, and goes on quite a bit too long. A disappointment, since most Korean thrillers are usually much better.

It's been a while...

[ninamissshit · 10/10 · 28 December 2019]

....since I last saw such an engaging thriller. Korean filmmakers really know how to get your heart rate up. The story is a piece of candy and the whole plot and development just draws you in. I've seen a few comments which are badmouthing the specific pace of korean movies and scenes which seem to be pointless, but let me tell you this: they really don't try to explain everything like it's for a 10 yo child, we have enough american thriller cliches to do that. So if you're a true movie fan who was on a lookout for a piece of cinema to linger on your mind then watch this

Hollywood has moved to South Korea

[bartbull-1 · 9/10 · 30 May 2023]

Memoir of a Murderer suck's you in from the very beginning. That's what SK writers are so good at doing. They don't rush the development of characters. They give them believable backstory's then let it play out at a slow rate. A lost art for U. S. writers.

Even tho the main character was a serial killer now with dementia you really feel for this guy, the sense of loss he is living with. I'm not going to give anymore away plot wise, but if you want to watch some great films look up the SK ones, they have taken over Hollywood.

I'm glad they did, you can only watch so many Superhero films without losing your mind....

"Don't trust your memory . . ."

[jeff-2051 · 8/10 · 2 June 2021]

Excellent film. Question everything. That's the best way to describe this story and character study.

Really good movie

[chazzdoover · 8/10 · 29 August 2019]

I think people see stagnant but jesus put your phone down and watch the movie

Highly overrated

[greenvertgroen · 3/10 · 30 July 2022]

Most people compliment this movie because they think it's clever with its plottwists revealing the main character to be an unreliable narrator, but it is not he who is. But instead it's the movie which is the unreliable narrator. There are several scenes where the main character is completely absent and where we only things from the point of view of the other suspected killer, where he kills 2 women at different occasions, which leads the viewer to believe he is the killer. This is just the movie cheaply trying to trick the viewer without putting the proper effort into it and stuff like this happens many times in the movie.

The end result is that the movie is confusing and makes no sense, and can only be considered a failed copy of Memento, which actually makes sense since that movie makes sure it's the main characters unreliable narrative that tricks the audience and not the movie's own inconsistent narrative.

The Korean "Memento" take

[Ghenboi · 8/10 · 22 October 2018]

Unreliable Protagonist trope everybody, however this time this is in Korea.

As any would guess it, yes you are correct.

Lengthy movie with scenes on scenes that are chock full of actions.

Quite good of the filming style. Its alright after all, though the ending might depends entirely on how we interpret it.

Quality take

[ritera1 · 8/10 · 12 July 2022]

....on the very old serial killer trope. Coincidental and convenient too much but still effective and human. Good direction and acting.

(I'd assume it took inspiration from Memento and the Danish Memories of a Killer.)