The "Just Ordinary" Murderer May Be Inside All of Us

I think the director manipulates the portrayals of the characters in Memories of Murder to make us suspect almost all of the characters at different times in the film. In addition to the camera’s suspicion of the suspects that go under fire in the film, the detectives are also hinted to potentially be the killer. For example, in one scene, after the killer is described to have gentle hands, the camera captures a close-up of Seo’s hands reaching out into the rain, thus making the viewer suspect that he is the killer in question. Moreover, because the film is titled Memories of Murder, the viewer is led to deduce that the memories that are presented are Kwang-ho’s, and that he is the murderer. 

However, I think that the director’s intention is to make us recognize that the murderer is impossible to identify assuredly because everyone has the potential to commit murder. This then expands to include those that are watching the film, as Park makes direct eye contact with the camera numerous times throughout the film, seemingly putting the audience on trial. The fact that the little girl at the end of the film describes the murderer as a man that is “just ordinary” is significant. The irony in the film lies in the fact that we, along with Park, have been looking for a character that deviates from the norm and thus distinguishes himself as the culprit, when doing so only leads us to false perceptions.