Memories of Murder (2003)

Memories of Murder (Salinui Chueok) is a 2003 crime‑drama set in rural South Korea in 1986, loosely based on the real Hwaseong serial murders. When a string of young women are raped and strangled, two provincial detectives — the blunt, instinctive Park Doo‑man and his weary partner Cho — bumble through the investigation with crude methods. The arrival of the more methodical, educated detective Seo Tae‑yoon from Seoul brings new technique and hope, but as more bodies appear the case becomes darker, the police grow increasingly desperate, and the limits of justice and human fallibility are exposed. Watching the film is a tense, immersive experience: a slow‑burn procedural that mixes bleak humor with mounting dread and moral ambiguity. You’ll feel the oppressive atmosphere of 1980s Korea in foggy fields, rain‑soaked towns and cramped interrogation rooms; be drawn into rich character work and memorable performances (notably Song Kang‑ho as the rough local cop and Kim Sang‑kyung as the city detective); and live through the frustration of sloppy forensics, misguided brutality and a community terrified by an unseen killer. The movie is as much about the failures and contradictions of the people hunting the murderer as it is about the crimes themselves — leaving viewers with lingering unease and a haunting, ambiguous finale rather than tidy closure.

Actors: Kang-ho Song, Kim Sang-kyung, Roe-ha Kim

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Runtime: 131 min

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery

7.6 /10 82 /100 8.1 /10 8.0 /10