His biggest achievement lies with the fact that he manages to create a truly despicable character seem likeable, since he is a rude, violent simpleton. Song Kang-ho as Park Doo-man proves once more why he is considered one of the top actors in the country, with his talent of being entertaining while cursing or hitting people becoming largely evident here. As high technology (from Japan, in another direct comment) enters South Korean society along with democratization, the danger to the citizens shifts from the secret police and the various agents of the regime to the unknown neighbor, who does not stand out due to a uniform, but instead is perfectly blended in with his environment. They are an archetypical example of modern society, since violence in the traditional societies was usually a means to an end.
MEMORIES OF A MURDERER SERIAL
This transition is presented in a rather original manner, as serial killings are actually crimes without any purpose or meaning apart from the enjoyment of violence and murder. The fact that Tae Yoon does not seem able to forget the case is what destroys him in the end, as is eloquently depicted in one of the final scenes, years after the incident.Īnother level Bong explores through the film is the transformation of South Korean society from a military dictatorship to a liberal democracy, and subsequently to a consumer society.
Through these aspects, Bong makes a comment about the concept of forgiveness, and the ability of people to let go. Additionally, the rendering of this particularly troublesome era in Korean history is also utterly competent. Equally excellent is the depiction of the antithesis between the local simpletons and the “intellectual” from Seoul, which is presented with intense humor, but without depriving the film of its seriousness. Additionally, the fictional elements he added are all wonderfully implemented, as they make the story more compelling, adding to the entertainment level.īong Joon-ho directed sublimely, mostly focusing on portraying the facts as accurately as possible.
The fact that he did not indulge in presenting a perpetrator in the film is one of the highlights of this tendency. For example, both in the film and the case, the killer gagged the women with their underwear and the investigators found bodily fluids suspected to belong to the murderer in the crime scenes, but did not have access to equipment to determine whether the DNA matched with the suspects until late in the investigations. Their combined investigation remains fruitless for a long time, while the local society grows restless due to the local detectives’ tactics.īong stayed quite close to the facts, even retaining some of the actual details of the murders. Furthermore, he discovers a clue that no one has noticed up to that point. The rest of the local police department is also equally incompetent, since the officers that arrive at the crime scene cannot even prevent citizens from stepping into the crime scene until the arrival of the coroner, a fact that ruins any possible evidence.ĭetective Tae Yoon arrives from Seoul to assist them and subsequently proceeds to eliminate the accusations for two individuals whom the local police officers forced to confess, with a mentally handicapped local named Baek Kwang-ho being among them. Two local detectives, Park Doo-man and Cho Yong-koo, are responsible for the investigation, but are obviously out of their depth, since it is the first time incidents of that magnitude have occurred in the area. A little later, another similar body is discovered. Based on the true, unsolved case of the first serial killer ever to appear in South Korea, the film begins in October 1986, when the deceased body of a raped woman is discovered in a ditch next to a field.
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