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Memories of Murder
User Score
8.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 28
  3. Negative: 1 out of 28

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  1. TimC.
    Aug 28, 2005
    9
    Near perfect. The way this film resonates with reality back and forth through 20 years since the first killings in 1986, is particularly poignant and rich with meloncholy and nostalgia, at least for this particular expat. The loss of innocence depicted here of the soulland of my country and the maturity and groundedness of its superb dramatic telling puts this film in a very special place in my DVD collection. The meticulous and understated direction by Bong Joon Ho is a quiet marvel.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. KaKa
    Sep 6, 2005
    9
    This was an amzing film! The cinematography and the acting blew me away - not to mention the plot and the story line it was based on. i loved the ending which was totally unexpecting for me - but i think was a wonderful way to end a plot such as this story line. The DVD extras that UMVD provides are decent - I enjoyed hearing what the actors had to say and I didnt expect there to be subtitles either! Bing, teh director, managed to grasp teh main bulk of teh mystery and present it to the general public and world in an unforgettable manner.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Bryan
    Oct 3, 2006
    10
    Tremendous!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. ChadS.
    Jun 29, 2005
    8
    At times, "Memories of Murder" plays like a Korean version of "Reno 911". Somehow, this remarkable film is able to get away with insipid detectives who specialize in police brutality that manages to be funny and realistic without undermining the crime element of the story. The tone of the film is constantly being challenged but it's never broken. An array of ludicrous interrogations never upstages the narrative's primary goal of finding the real killer. For contrast, and a preventive measure against an all-out farce, a cop from Seoul is used as a straight man, like if Jimmy Smits was brought into Hazard County and had to work with Enos and Roscoe. When one of the ethically-suspect cops finally adheres to the rules, its ramifications has tragi-comic consequences for this reformed detective in a subsequent scene that ends this highly original film.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. JasonB.
    Sep 1, 2005
    10
    Great Film. I thought the greatest part of this film was the realistic emotions that are brought out. The pain these cops go through in the inability to find the killer, and their willingness to do anything (including force confessions) in order to find him, and to feel safe again. I read in another review that he didnt like the ending, I loved it. I thought it was the most honest part. And thats basically what happened in real life, which makes the ending even greater. I also loved the perfectly timed comedy. The use of comedy shows the true talent of Bong Joon Ho. I also loved the dichotomy of it being an Asian film, with many culturally unique aspects, and also being one of the most universal stories and films I have ever seen. There was nothing wrong with this film in my opinion. Definately my favorite film I have seen all year.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. GregoryH.
    Sep 8, 2005
    0
    This thing was practically unwatchable--in fact I couldn't take more than a half hour of it. Dubbed into English and peppered with cutesy tough-guy supposed cop lingo, I wish I could have just watched in in Korean with English Subtitles. The poor dubbing made the characters seem laugable. The dialogue was pure vintage Starsky & Hutch-styled one guy hollering at all the other idiots and jerks, his words not mine. The critics MUST have all watched this film in its original incarnation, because no one in their right mind could heap any praise upon this butchered piece of crap.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. DoctorEvil
    Oct 18, 2005
    10
    Definitely the best Korean movie i've seen. Wow, it was really good. Unbelievable.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. Eunice
    Dec 10, 2005
    10
    I personally think this movie was better than The Silence of the Lambs as it contains more humour, and way, way better than Seve.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. [Anonymous]
    Aug 23, 2005
    6
    Good movie. The ending was very stupid and gave you NO answers whatsoever.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. Mink-coatPimp
    Sep 16, 2005
    10
    I was totally blown away by this movie. Every screencap from the movie is frame-worthy and the acting is supurb. The subtle comical tones go a long way in giving the viewer a break from the dismal and tragic undertone of the plot. Never have I been so satisfied with a blind rental, or a foriegn flick for that matter. A word of advice, watch the movie in its original language w/subtitles, because the dubbing is, as always unbearable.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. Halfwelshman
    Feb 2, 2012
    10
    Memories of Murder is far superior to most murder-mystery films. Writer/director Bong Joon-ho's mastery of the macabre, and of writing disturbed characters makes the film a joy to behold. The cast are superb, and in fine neo-noir tradition (a tradition effectively started by Chinatown), the investigators haven't got a clue what is really going on. This idea is taken even further than in that Polanski classic, where Jack Nicholson's P.I. Jake Gittes was smart and street-wise, but never quite grasped the dire nature of the situation until it was far too late. In Memories of Murder, the detectives in charge of the murder investigation are essentially three different kinds of idiot, and all their investigative techniques are deeply flawed. Detective Park (Song Kang-ho) is a firm believer in following your gut, and appears to have progressed through his career in the police force through sheer blind luck rather than any conceivable skill. Detective Seo (Kim Sang-kyung) is a city cop, and on the surface appears to be the most competent of the group, but is completely out of his depth working in the countryside, and unable to recognise that his usual methods won't serve him as well in his new surroundings. Finally Detective Cho (Kim Roe-ha) is the classic dumb brute, using his army-booted feet to find the answers his mind is too feeble to root out. All of the cast are good, but of particular note are Song, who manages to play a fairly unlikeable character, but at the same time keeps viewers on his side because of his incompetent, clownish nature, and Kim Sang-kyung, who provides the story its emotional core. Loosely based on the Korean stage play Come See Me which re-tells the story of the Hwaseong murders just as the film does, Memories of Murder retains the feel of a play, with numerous scenes of the group of inept detectives simply sitting, and working out what to do next. Bong has ample opportunity to flex his filmmaking muscles in other scenes, with expansive and striking crane shots of the ominous rice fields where several of the murders take place, and classic horror movie P.O.V. shots from the killer's perspective (particularly shudder-inducing and tense is a scene later on in the film where we see the killer torn between two potential victims from his own perspective). Only in South Korean cinema do you see such brilliantly disjointed ideas on screen - such a dark film involving a serial killer shouldn't work with the addition of comedy, but somehow it does. As he has proved in all of his films, Bong is a real master of film deconstruction, and of making seemingly contradictory ideas work together, most commonly by adding his own unique brand of black comedy to normally serious situations (I hardly think a smile would be raised in a police torture scene directed by any other filmmaker in the world, with the possible exception of Quentin Tarantino). So Memories of Murder is a far cry from a conventional murder-mystery. It's not just its quirkiness that makes it stand out, though - it's well-written, performed and filmed. The story captivates you from the start, and it maintains momentum throughout. You never find out any more than the detectives in the film do, so you go through exactly the same experiences as them - you feel their frustration at their lack of progress and numerous investigative dead-ends, and their pain and despair at their inability to catch the elusive monster they are hunting. It's a very effective technique to keep the viewer compelled by the characters in a film. Bong Joon-ho also makes some explicit comments about the state of the Korean government and society in the 1980s, and in doing so, makes a more subliminal comment about modern Korea. He's easily among the most talented filmmakers working today, both technically and artistically, and isn't afraid to just let audiences loose in the film worlds he creates, leaving them to have their own unique experiences, and make their own judgements. Memories of Murder is dark, intelligent and beautifully crafted filmmaking at its finest, and I consider it one of the best films of the past decade.… Expand
  12. hoops2448
    Feb 5, 2012
    5
    If there was a film I was utterly disappointed in that I thought would be wonderful it would be Zodiac which took the intriguingly dark story of the Zodiac killings and brought a whole lot of suspense and mystery and built it up to a crescendo only to leave the viewer wondering what the point was with an ending so utterly muddled it spoilt the entire film. My opinion of Memories of Murder follows the same logic but I look back on it more favourably than Zodiac thanks to some artistic flair by director Bong Joon-ho and some entertaining dark comedy. The story is about a two inept police officers who are trying to catch a serial killer who is raping and murdering girls in the district. They are joined by an intelligent (in comparison to the other two he is Einstein) detective from Seoul brought in to apprehend the killer. The story is based on real events but it does bring an interesting theatricality to the events with the comedy lightening the dire situation. However it doesn’t stop the film from being incredibly slow with parts of the film moving glacially while adding nothing to the overall experience. The film is too long which creates viewer apathy by the end which is a shame because the final moments (although frustratingly open ended) are actually very tense and well-constructed so viewers should be able to enjoy them but they are just overshadowed by a monotonous first half. The films main saving grace is that it keeps you guessing as the investigation takes many twists an turns so that by the end of it you have no idea who it could have been. It’s something Zodiac failed to do. Overall it is a disappointing film from a director who has a lot of visual talent, its just a shame that there were too many plot threads, some unnecessary aesthetic choices and an annoying ending.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    90
    It takes enormous skill to pull off such a high-wire act without diminishing the gravity of the situation, but Bong and his first-rate cast are up to the task.
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  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    90
    It's an altogether remarkable piece of work, deepening the genre while whipping its skin off, satirizing an entire nation's nearsighted apathy as it wonders, almost aloud, about the nature of truth, evidence, and social belonging.
    Read full review
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    Becomes something of a rainswept Korean koan on both the nobility and futility of persistence in the face of obviously insurmountable odds.
    Read full review
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