This blog post is a part of the Filmspanarna challengeathon. I was challenged by Movies-Noir to watch Memories of Murder. The base for the challengeathon is basically to challenge a fellow blogger to watch something out of their normal comfort zone.
Cutting to the chase I can say this was pretty spot on for me. South Korean and Asian cinema in general has been one big crater of absence in my life, period. I had a brief stint of watching the classic stuff when studying Film history at the university. Back then I even plowed as much of Akira Kurosawas films I could get my hands on in my spare-time. Derzu Uzala was the one of his under-the-radar films that stuck with me. Other than that I’ve mostly given myself poor excuses to avoid Asian cinema without sticking my toes to deep in the pond except for the occasional Ringu (very scary) or The Good, the Bad and the Weird (nice setup but quite forgettable in the end).
So for this challengeathon I was handed Memories of Murder by Swedish blogging colleague Movies-Noir (I worded the headline just to screw with him, thinking I hated the film hahah). The plot is about a local police crew trying to solve a serial murder/rapist case in a smaller South Korean town.
The closest resemblance I have for this film is that its a compressed south korean season of True Detective. Since it came out in 2003 I more or less assume they were inspired by this film because it feels very True Detectivish. Both plot, character and setting.
Something that irked me when watching it though is that the initial hour is pretty comedic. It’s something I recognize from earlier bit visits to modern Asian films. It’s mainly a character thing where the main characters feels a bit too cartoony compared to the overall tone of the film. I can’t help to think that these traits are enhanced through having to read the dialog through sub-titles.
As for the film in general I think it’s really good. It’s by far one of the most ambitious modern films I’ve ever seen. Overall it has a minimalistic approach (besides the main actors) that suits the film perfect without making it to bleak. Which easily could have been the case with this one.
Below are the rest of the participants posts, a lot of the ones in Swedish have translation widgets so feel free to check them out as well.
The Velvet Cafe (in English)
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Hey, this is my favorite of the Korean films I’ve seen and I’ve seen it a couple of times over the years. I like the number of genres that somehow work together, even though they shouldn’t. I fully agree with you that the first hour or so has a lot of comedy with some of the characters doing stuff you normally wouldn’t see in a thriller/serial-killer film. It also makes it stand out because it becomes more and more intense and pretty much surprises you when you get deeper and deeper into the mystery.
I’m very glad you liked it and hope it opens the door to more of the Korean cinema for you!
PS: Nice play with words in the headline 😉
Thanks for an awesome pick I’ll definitively check out more Korean stuff. I felt like coping out at little when not describing the film too much but it was mainly from a spoiler perspective. I think this one probably hits harder when knowing very little about it.
True, true. One shouldn’t know too much about this one. Just a friendly reminder to point out that there are comic elements in the beginning that might not be for everyone.
Btw, my old review (in Swedish) can be found here.
Awesome I’ll look at that one when I get home!
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Great choice from Movies-Noir – and a great film! I liked your comparision with True Detective, it´s spot on really.
I wasn’t aware you had seen it. And yes I would be very surprised if the makers of True Detective hasn’t seen this before developing the show.
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http://www.fiffisfilmtajm.se/memories-of-murder/
I´ve seen it once again after I wrote the review, I think I would give it 4/5 now.
One movie that I have told myself about 100 times to watch. Thanks for reminding me… 🙂
Its a must watch especially with your expertise on the matter. Don’t re-search it too much though. It deserves to be seen without knowing everything about it beforehand.
Interesting pick! I just might have to see it myself now when you reference True detective in this way.
The problem I have had with films from South Korea is the slapstick comedy that creeps in now and then. I hate farse and do not agree with mixing genres if that is included. In the film I got, “3-iron”, happily there was no farse moments.
Hmm, maybe I should see this “True Detective” show everyone seems to be talking about 😉 Especially now that Joel says it reminds him of MoM…
Henke: The typical Korean comedy is seen here, but for me the blend works. And it’s not during the whole movie so if you give it a chance, I think you might like it (knowing what to expect with the comedy bits).
Definitively look into True Detective! Its a very good show up until the last episode at least.
Henke: Yes the farce/slapstick is here too in the beginning of the film but its pretty subtle and it fits the characters. I have seen it been a lot worse in other Asian films.
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@Joel: True detective has a great last episode! Do not tell me you don’t see it… 😉
Sorry Henke, I don’t really see greatness in the last episode no… maybe the last 3 minutes or so but the rest was pretty bad considering how good the rest was.
At first viewing I was hoping for another ending, but I loved all of it the second time I saw the episode! 🙂
Great review and interesting thoughts on asian cinema… I also tend to avoid asian films (we simply don’t click), but then again I’ve probably seen way to little to know that for a fact.
Great choice, M-Noir. Korean crime thriller, not so suprising. 🙂
I actually saw Memories of Murder in the cinema in an epic screening together with… gues who? Yes, Movies – Noir, no less. 🙂
Yes, the comedic elements can be a bit jarring especially if you’re not prepared. By now I have seen quite a lot of korean movies so I have gotten used to it, and actually appreciates it. 😉 It gives you a weird feeling. Funny that there is a similar style at the ending of To Live (the film by Zhang Yimou that I wrote about today).
My review of Memories of Murder (plus details about the screening):
http://jojjenito.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/memories-of-murder/
Sounds like an excellent challange and a good movie to boot. I have to catch both this _and_ True Detective — the holes in my South Korean film and TV-series education are apparently gaping 🙂
Haven´t seen this yet but I like asian movis and for the moment S.K is the most interesting country so sooner or later i´m going to se it.
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