Memories of Murder, a "Well-made film"

              Although Bong Joon Ho is one of the most well-known directors in South Korea, it was my first time seeing his work. Thanks to EAST313, I got the chance of watching his famous Memories of Murder (2003) which I was not “permitted” to watch when it was released.

           According to Jinhee Choi, Bong’s Memories of Murder is defined as one of “the “well-made” commercial films in the Korean film industry” (Choi, 144), assuming that this type of film “refers to films that earned both critical acclaim and commercial success (Choi, 145). What would be some reasons for the success of these films? My opinion is that even if the movie lacks high production values, that could be seen in Hollywood style movies, such as Shiri, if the content and story is able to draw the attention of the viewers, it will become a hit. In this sense, there is no wonder why Memories of Murder was a success – it is not only based on a real-life story, but is also an unsolved case (Choi, 148). This allows the director to “play” with the mystery of the event (Choi, 148), allowing the audience to work alongside Bong’s perspective in solving the unsolved crime. When there is a lot to focus content-wise, the viewers are most likely to focus on eye-catching special effects. Moreover, the mise-en-scene allows “the Korean film industry [to seek] an alternate aesthetic to replace the spectacle-driven blockbuster style” (Choi, 152). As mentioned in Timothy Corrigan’s work, “Mise-en-scene […] is about the theatrics of space […] and this use of space […] can generate exciting topics and commentary on film” (Corrigan, 56). For instance, in this film, the viewers are left to find who the killer is with what is shown through the camera lens. Bong’s depiction of Park Hyun-Kyu seems to show that Bong sees him as a prime suspect – when the detectives go through Park’s album at his house, his face on the pictures are not shown clearly. The darkness and paleness that is shown (repeatedly) through this character felt as if Park was the real suspect.

           Overall, I have really enjoyed the movie but it was outraging that the criminal has still not been caught, up to this date. Also, it was very interesting to note the change in detective Seo’s attitude towards solving the crime (at first he is all about facts and documents, but later becomes more emotional after his personal attachment to the victim). However, I will leave this part for the discussion that will take place in the class.