Memories of Murder (2003)

 

Memories of Murder (2003)

Set in South Korea during the late 1980’s, this real crime movie tells the story of Detective Park and Detective Seo as they attempt to solve serious crimes involving rape and murder.

The two characters are appealing to many audiences through the comedy aspects of this movie, making it a unique and intriguing thriller to watch.

I have long since heard of the excellence of this korean movie on koreanfilm.org, but it was only after reading the review in detail and realizing that the score was written by Taro Ishiwaro ( a well known Japanese musician who also wrote scores for Shohei Imamura and Japanese TV serials, including The Inanimate World ), and that the DOP was Kim Hyung-gu (who also shot Musa, One Fine Spring Day and Chen Kaige's Together) that it stumped on me I was indeed missing a masterpiece.

And a masterpiece it is, one deeply haunting and disturbing asian crime thriller. The mood invoked during the last few minutes of the film is something you would probably never forget.

Watch this film not only for its cinematic brilliance, but also because of the mezmerising score written by Taro Ishiwaro, track no 29 on the OST the favourite on my list.