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Author Topic: Memories of Murder  (Read 4900 times)

Defuniak

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Memories of Murder
« on: August 14, 2005, 10:29:23 PM »
Has anyone heard of, or had the pleasure of catching 'Memories of Murder'? This is by far one of the best films I've seen in the last several years, and dare I say it, easily bests Oldboy.

It's a film based on true events of the first serial-killer in South Korea (in the 1980s I think) that remains unsolved. The film is a laugh-out-loud comedy about screwball police detective-work, it's a serial-killer thriller that had me on the edge of my seat on many occasions, it's a touching human drama about a bunch of characters whose lives are forever changed, and it's about the loss of innocence for the residents in a small town - among other things!

None of this genre-mixing seem out of place at all and the film is better for it. If you are after an intelligent and thrilling emotional rollercoaster ride of a film, I'd highly (HIGHLY) recommend Memories of Murder.

I was reminded of it when reading the Oldboy thread (and generally whenever someone asks me to name some of the best films I'd seen) and thought this film deserves the spotlight just as much as Oldboy if not more so!

CharlatanUK

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Re: Memories of Murder
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2007, 02:45:30 PM »
Memories of Murder is a really good movie. I think this movie dwells better on the changes in Korean society (a recurrent theme in  most Korean cinema) than most others. I'm not sure if the climax at the train tracks made it for me, or the very end when the ex-cop revisits the old farm field in Suwon.

choatime

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Re: Memories of Murder
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2007, 04:35:59 PM »
I'd recommend it pretty strongly, too.  I found the ending to be quite haunting.

I've watched a few recent Korean films during the past year, and I found it odd how I knew more about the "secretive" North Korea than I knew about what happened in South Korea over the last half-century.

AnthonyAmmo

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Re: Memories of Murder
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2007, 06:43:46 PM »
I loved this movie. Probably my favorite Korean movie of the last few years. I thought it was significantly better than Joon-ho Bong's first feature Barking Dogs Never Bite (which I really enjoyed), and I think it blew away his most recent film The Host (which was entertaining at best).

Really, as far as "track-down-the-killer" movies go, this is only a half step down from Silence of the Lambs, and is in the same league as a movie like Se7en. Maybe better.

Really, I'd recommend this to everyone. It's such a great experience... a totally hilarious movie that never sacrifices it's drama for the sake of it's comedy.

I too really liked the ending. Without spoiling, it's one of those endings that at first can leave you feeling unfulfilled, but the more you think about it the more appropriate it becomes.

Mr Durden

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Re: Memories of Murder
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2013, 05:37:17 PM »
Really amazing film.

Had the pleasure of re watching this again recently and it took me through the same emotional roller coaster it did the first time I saw it.

I think this film deserves so much more reverence than it gets.

The final shot of this film will forever haunt me and I mean that in the best possible way.


WillMunny

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Re: Memories of Murder
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2013, 06:17:09 AM »
alas it's true, it belongs to the overlooked films section, it has never got the level of recognition it deserves, the shocking/graphic/violent scenes of Oldboy appeal to a wider public than this strange investigation with its subtle hints to the changing Korean society. It belongs to my top 10 films of the new century list anyway.

jdc

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Re: Memories of Murder
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2013, 01:51:41 AM »
alas it's true, it belongs to the overlooked films section, it has never got the level of recognition it deserves, the shocking/graphic/violent scenes of Oldboy appeal to a wider public than this strange investigation with its subtle hints to the changing Korean society. It belongs to my top 10 films of the new century list anyway.

I sometimes wonder do we need an overlooked film section since it is not like the regular movie sections are just overflowing with mainstream stuff.

That said, MoM is one of my favourite films, just recently rewatched it a week or so ago.  I thought it was a much better Zodiac.  Though after watching so many Korean films I do notice that they almost always like to make cops seem like bungling fools most of the time.
"Beer. Now there's a temporary solution."  Homer S.
“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations” - David Friedman

 

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