Memories of Murder (2003)
Coming Out at 2 May 2003 in theaters.
“Salinui chueok”
Action, Crime, Drama
Memories of Murder is crime drama film co-written and directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is loosely based on the true story of Korea’s first serial murders in history, which took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung star as Detective Park and Detective Seo, respectively, two of the detectives trying to solve the crimes.
The film was the second feature film directed by Bong, following his 2000 debut film Barking Dogs Never Bite. The screenplay was adapted by Bong and Shim Sung-bo from Kim Kwang-rim’s 1996 stage play about the same subject. The film’s earned critical praise for cinematography and musical score, as well as Song Kang-ho’s performance, Bong’s direction and screenplay. It is considered as one of the best South Korean films of all time.
In October 1986, two women are found raped and murdered in a ditch. Local detective Park Doo-man, not having dealt with such a serious case before, is overwhelmed — evidence is improperly collected, the police’s investigative methods are suspect, and their forensic technology is near non-existent. Park claims he has a way of determining suspects by eye contact. He decides to first question a scarred mentally handicapped boy, Baek Kwang-ho, who resides in the town. He uses his eye contact method, thinking Baek is responsible, and has his partner Cho beat confessions out of Baek.
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Writers: Bong Joon Ho, Kwang-rim Kim (play), Sung-bo Shim
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim, Jae-ho Song, Hee-Bong Byun, Seo-hie Ko
Cast:
| Kang-ho Song | … | Detective Park Doo-man |
| Sang-kyung Kim | … | Detective Seo Tae-yoon |
| Roe-ha Kim | … | Detective Cho Yong-koo |
| Jae-ho Song | … | Sergeant Shin Dong-chul |
| Hee-Bong Byun | … | Sergeant Koo Hee-bong |
| Seo-hie Ko | … | Officer Kwon Kwi-ok |
| Tae-ho Ryu | … | Jo Byeong-soon |
| No-shik Park | … | Baek Gwang-ho |
| Hae-il Park | … | Park Hyeon-gyu |
| Mi-seon Jeon | … | Kwok Seol-yung |
| Young-hwa Seo | … | Eon Deok-nyeo |
| Woo Go-na | … | Kim So-hyeon |
| Ok-joo Lee | … | Oh Nam-joo |
| Jong-ryol Choi | … | Gwang-ho’s father |
| Seung-mok Yoo | … | Journalist |
| Hun-Kyung Lee | … | Park Yeong-ja |
| Hyeon-jong Sin | … | Autopsy doctor |
| Jae-eung Lee | … | Boy in Opening Scene |
| In-sun Jung | … | Girl in Ending Scene |
| Byung-gil Kwon | … | Doctor |
| Bong-gi Baek | … | Cop Dressed as Woman |
| Hyeon-gi Choi | … | Farmer |
| Deok-jae Jo | … | Investigator |
| Moon-Eui Jo | ||
| Ha-kyeong Kim | … | Lee Han-suk |
| Joo-ryeong Kim | … | Nurse |
| Dong-yong Lee | … | Suspect |
| Yong Oh | … | Cop |
| Hyun-young Park | … | Public Relations Woman |
| Jin-woo Park | … | Broadcast Station AD |
| Tae-kyeong Park | … | Detective Colleague |
| Sung-bo Shim | … | Photojournalist |
| Dong-Hwan Shin | … | Opening Farmer |
| Kang-gook Son | … | Detective |
| Jin-ho Song | … | Fellow detective |
| Ga-hyun Yun | … | Psychic |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia