I "rented" this via Netflix DVD (soon-to-be-RIP) about a year ago, and I was blown away by it - I'm a big, big fan. Also, very tense and scary; I couldn't get my wife to watch it with me but I watched it late at night and I was jumping at random noises for days.
Scott mentions the mounting body count of female victims which turned me off of the film completely. It’s not funny/sad/enraging that these cops can’t solve crimes—as they make empty promises to little girls I stop wanting to be around them at all.
I watched this movie because of a film called Sheep Without A Shepherd, which features a man trying to cover up a crime using his own knowledge of crime movies and uses Memories of Murder similarly to Point Break in Hot Fuzz. The police (led by Joan Chen!) don’t respond well so unfortunately the lesson this character should have taken from Memories of Murder is that violent cops can always get more violent.
I rewatched this recently and came away thinking the coda was the key to one of the film’s subtler themes. South Korea is a country with mandatory military service that encourages and profits from male violence. I took the little girl’s description of the killer as “ordinary” to mean that it really could have been *any* man, because it could have been.
It's great that the film is finally more available. For years the only disc I could find was the Korean release, which fortunately had English subtitles. It's nice to finally have a local version, and know that more people are able to see this fantastic film.
A completely brilliant film I'm not sure I could ever watch again because how hopeless I felt afterwards. Very few films have really gotten in me the way this one did.
I didn't get to see this until the Criterion release, but I was surprised at how much I loved it. Bong's ability to make what is essentially a despairing shaggy dog story into something so engaging and unexpected warm and incredibly funny--well, given that I've seen most of the rest of his films, I knew what to expect, but this is just so damn _watchable_. Like, I may throw the disc on tonight, just to hang out in that world, as unsettling as it is. Great write-up.
Real curious to read your thoughts on The Empty Man. I dug it a lot.
Incredible film, and still my favorite of Bong’s (though I think Mother is his best). Some of the funniest, saddest, and most chilling scenes I’ve seen in any movie, and all in the same one. What a fucking balancing act, I still don’t understand how he made it work.
The New Cult Canon: 'Memories of Murder'
I’ve only seen this film once, about a decade ago, but moments from it have stuck with me. The same goes for Bong’s Mother, which I saw before it.
I’ll be curious to read your take on The Empty Man because I found that one wanting. I know it has its adherents. It just failed to adhere to me.
I "rented" this via Netflix DVD (soon-to-be-RIP) about a year ago, and I was blown away by it - I'm a big, big fan. Also, very tense and scary; I couldn't get my wife to watch it with me but I watched it late at night and I was jumping at random noises for days.
Scott mentions the mounting body count of female victims which turned me off of the film completely. It’s not funny/sad/enraging that these cops can’t solve crimes—as they make empty promises to little girls I stop wanting to be around them at all.
I watched this movie because of a film called Sheep Without A Shepherd, which features a man trying to cover up a crime using his own knowledge of crime movies and uses Memories of Murder similarly to Point Break in Hot Fuzz. The police (led by Joan Chen!) don’t respond well so unfortunately the lesson this character should have taken from Memories of Murder is that violent cops can always get more violent.
I rewatched this recently and came away thinking the coda was the key to one of the film’s subtler themes. South Korea is a country with mandatory military service that encourages and profits from male violence. I took the little girl’s description of the killer as “ordinary” to mean that it really could have been *any* man, because it could have been.
It's great that the film is finally more available. For years the only disc I could find was the Korean release, which fortunately had English subtitles. It's nice to finally have a local version, and know that more people are able to see this fantastic film.
A completely brilliant film I'm not sure I could ever watch again because how hopeless I felt afterwards. Very few films have really gotten in me the way this one did.
I didn't get to see this until the Criterion release, but I was surprised at how much I loved it. Bong's ability to make what is essentially a despairing shaggy dog story into something so engaging and unexpected warm and incredibly funny--well, given that I've seen most of the rest of his films, I knew what to expect, but this is just so damn _watchable_. Like, I may throw the disc on tonight, just to hang out in that world, as unsettling as it is. Great write-up.
Real curious to read your thoughts on The Empty Man. I dug it a lot.
Incredible film, and still my favorite of Bong’s (though I think Mother is his best). Some of the funniest, saddest, and most chilling scenes I’ve seen in any movie, and all in the same one. What a fucking balancing act, I still don’t understand how he made it work.
Managed to finally catch this one last year. Haunting yet a melange of elements.
Well written, Scott!
Hype Williams’ BELLY would be a fun one for this feature