Memories of Murder (Bong Joon Ho, 2003, Korea)

Seventeen years before the success of Bong Joon Ho’s searing thriller Parasite, his subversive and darkly comedic procedural drama Memories of Murder haunted audiences around the world. Based on the true story of South Korea’s infamous Hwaseong serial murders, which remained unsolved at the time of the film’s release, Memories of Murder follows a trio of ill-equipped detectives as they battle bureaucracy, incompetence, and sometimes each other in their continuously thwarted efforts to solve the case. Gripping from start to finish, the film ends with one of the most unsettling closing scenes in cinematic history. Memories of Murder also marks Bong Joon Ho’s first collaboration with the prominent actor Song Kang-ho, who would return in The Host, Snowpiercer, and Parasite. In Korean with English subtitles. (131 mins., 4K DCP)

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