Scripts, I believe, are the true heart of any film— but an auteur, a genuine auteur director, makes magic with the whole medium. This is one of those films, ostensibly a genre film it is much more: a moving painting, an investigation of the wells of the human psyche, exposition on the uncertainty of any solution to any crime and a gritty grounded look at Korea, a real portrait of the place.
I think I get the ending but, maybe not, and either way unfortunately I find it unsatisfying.
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Further notes: First, a thought unrelated to this film, but— physical media is so important! I loved watching it on blue ray. Next, film is art. It matters seeing it not only on disk (and better yet on film in the theatre) but in the cared and labored over form. Third, this is an extrodinary example of all that because this is one hell of a picture: composed shots like paintings, like Dutch or Spanish still lifes, a noir in color, very gritty. Very real. I felt I was seeing Korea too though I can't know what of it or in detail at this distance.
Strong performances all around. Perhaps the focus on the mystery of the mystery is less satisfying than (I've) often thought?
Memorable quotes: "Look me in the eyes." (Shaman's eyes.)
Best scene: There are many! But I found the opening, rolling through the yellow cereal fields on a bumbling, chugging tractor with a gang of kids chasing them and especially the man who'd turn out to be the lead detective and then him identifying the (first) body in a coffin-drain with a discarded piece of broken mirror to be the most memorable.
Conclusion: 👍🏼
Details:
Title: Memories of Murder
Country: South Korea
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Year: 2003
Starring: Song Kang Ho, Kim Sang Kyong, Park Hae