A South Korean crime thriller from the director of Parasite is now available to watch for free in the UK.
First hitting screens in 2003, Memories of Murder was directed by Bong Joon Ho, who co-wrote it alongside Shim Sung-bo.
Based on the 1996 play Come to See Me by Kim Kwang-lim, the film stars Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung as detectives Park Doo-man and Seo Tae-yoon, who lead an investigation into a series of rapes and murders taking place in Hwaseong in the late 1980s.
The film was also based on the real-life killings that were committed by Lee Choon-jae but were still unsolved at the time the movie was made. They were also infamously known as South Korea’s first confirmed serial murders.
In the 23 years since the movie was released, it’s now considered one of the best crime films of the 21st century and one of the greatest Korean films of all time. Legendary Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino has also called it one of his favourite films of all time.
It was also recently released on ITVX, where it can be streamed for free.
Holding a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the review site’s consensus reads: ‘Memories of Murder blends the familiar crime genre with social satire and comedy, capturing the all-too human desperation of its key characters.’
In its review, The New York Times wrote: ‘Memories of Murder is such a taut, effective thriller it’s a shame you have to read subtitles to gauge just how good a movie it is. If you don’t speak Korean, that is…the movie in question works better than most Hollywood thrillers and even those Law & Order procedurals.’
‘Memories of Murder is a great satire of official laxity and arrogance, and its final scene is very chilling,’ The Guardian shared.
Meanwhile Variety called it a ‘powerful, slow-burning portrait of human fallibility’.
Plenty of viewers have also shared their thoughts on the film over the years, posting their own reviews to various review sites.
‘Bong Joon-ho’s true genius lies in his ability to synthesize heavy subject matter into a masterpiece that resonates with a mix of sadness, terror, and surprising comedy, ultimately capturing the true human condition,’ user Kristopher wrote on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Long before Parasite took Bong Joon-ho to the world, Memories of Murder highlighted the filmmaker’s vicious style that leaves the main characters sundered from reality. And then there’s that final scene – a stare into the void that reveals a truth long festering,’ Ajay teased.
‘Not a single frame is wasted. Unnerving and unsettling, yet strangely easy to watch. Like Parasite, it’s one of those rare films you wish you could unsee—just to experience it for the first time all over again,’ Gonzalo added.
Some even called the film ‘better than Parasite’.
For the uninitiated, its director Bong Joon Ho, 56, has won three Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and five Asian Film Awards throughout his career.
He first rose to prominence – and gained a cult following – with his feature directorial debut Barking Dogs Never Bite in 2000.
Further success came with Memories of Murder, The Host in 2006 and then Snowpiercer in 2013 – which marked his English language debut.
But it was Parasite that made him a household name across the world, with the film also being the highest-grossing South Korean film in history.
The black comedy thriller followed a poor family who infiltrate the home and life of a wealthy family, grossing $258million (£191million) after being made on a budget of $11.4million (£8.4million).
The film won a string of awards, but most notably walked away with the Oscar for best picture, becoming the first non-English-language film to do so.
It also picked up best director, best original screenplay and best international feature film too, as well as the Golden Globe for best foreign language film and Bafta for best film not in the English language.
In the years since the director has also gone on to release Okja and Mickey 17.
But during an event at Gwangju Cinema in South Korea last year, he singled out Memories of Murder as his most difficult project to date.
‘The only film I shot while drunk was Memories of Murder,’ he said.
‘Since the victims were young girls, it was emotionally hard, so I could only shoot after drinking half a bottle of soju.’
Instead of depicting graphic and violent scenes, the film was praised for instead capturing the unsettling feeling of impending violence.
Memories of Murder is streaming on ITVX.
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