Review of Memories of Murder (2003) by David U — 16 Sep 2005

First of all, do not watch the dubbed version. You will have to go to disc setup and pick the Korean dolby stereo, and then pick English subtitles on. I have heard the dubbed version sucks (like most dubbed movies).

This movie is based on true events that happened in the late 1980's in South Korea. Compared to American cops, the Korean cops in this movie do not have the know-how or resources available to them that we take for granted over here. Some of their antics seem comical, but they are based more on ignorance than ineptitude. You have one detective who likes to use violence on a suspect to get information, and then his partner who relies on his intuition. Into this mix comes a Seoul detective who uses more scientific and logical methods. Of course this creates conflict between the detectives, which has to be mediated by the harried Chief of police.

This movie is well acted and gives insight into the culture of that time. Just do not go into the movie expecting a CSI type of neat resolution.