After watching excellent Korean movies such as "The Yellow Sea" and "Horror Live", after being recommended by a friend, I fell in love with this "Memories of Murder"
This movie is more of a drama than a crime movie . Although it is based on a real case, and its true ending is also an unsolved case, the focus of this article is not to state the case or analyze the criminal psychology, but to the changes in the emotions and concepts of the characters in the process. The director controls the rhythm of the film with a rigorous and steady attitude from beginning to end, and does not hype up bloody violence, which shows the creator's respect and compassion for the victims in the case. Most of the films use cloudy and rainy days as the shooting background. Such a gloomy and depressing birdcage environment built by the creator makes people’s emotions inevitably repressed.
Don't think that the theme is depressing and that the film is dull without highlights and strength. The irony and innuendo of many details make this film not mediocre at all.
Summary of the film plot: A serial murder case occurred in a rural town in South Korea. The victims were all young women. The murderers were cruel and violated the victims. There was only one survivor who was in a trance. The local criminal police officer Park Dooman is partnered with the police officer Su Tae-yoon from Seoul. As the investigation of the case unfolds, three key suspects surfaced, and objective evidence broke the suspicion again and again. During the investigation, on the night of heavy rain, new victims continued to appear, and the two police officers eager to solve the case were almost collapsed. Just after the police let the last suspect go, time seemed to erase the terrifying shadow, and Officer Park, who had already changed his face at the end, came to the scene of the original murder by chance and learned that the murderer was still at large.
Detail 1: Out of Control
The time background of this case is a small Korean town in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the local residents seem to have little legal awareness. In order to watch the fun, everyone will not care about protecting the crime scene and evidence, regardless of adults and children. It is so. This has created a huge obstacle to the detection of the case. Officer Park Dooman (played by Song Kangho) lost control of the crime scene at the beginning, showing his exhaustion. In addition to the general public's weak awareness of the law, it is a satire of the lack of credibility of the police and the government they represent. As for why the credibility is lacking , as the film unfolds a little bit, it will become more and more interesting to watch.
Detail 2: Perjury
Guang Hao, as the first main suspect in the case, was regarded as a freak by people because of his congenital defects and misfortunes, and because of this, he entered the police's attention (in fact, this suspicion itself has a bit of discrimination). In addition, because of his low self-esteem, Guanghao can only follow the girl he likes, which happens to make him witness the crime.
The police's arbitrariness and dedication to meritorious deeds made Park Dooman believe that Guanghao was the murderer, so he created perjury to force the suspect to confess guilt. Of course, many people will think that this is an attempt to defraud the murderer, but it is related to various behaviors such as the recording of the induced confession. It will make you feel that this policeman is very Low.
Detail 3: Superstition
Pu Dooman, who had no way to solve the case, had nowhere to go, but he actually chose to resort to the feudal superstition method of the goddess. At this point, in fact, we can more or less begin to understand this police officer. In fact, his original intention was not bad, he just wanted to solve the case as soon as possible and catch the real culprit, but the helpless method was relatively clumsy. This is also in contrast to Su Taiyun who came from a big city. And it was in this way that Park Douman caught the second suspect by accident.
There is a line here, which is very similar to the character's mentality: "Don't try to sell me that spell." This sentence confirms that Park Dooman still doesn't believe it at all, and is just holding the attitude of a dead horse as a living horse doctor. . But the scene that followed made people laugh and cry. He said he didn't believe it, but his body was honest. Not only did he buy a spell, but he also did what the goddess instructed very religiously. Now that this life-saving straw has been grasped, even if there is little hope, there is no reason not to work hard. In this way, the characters appear three-dimensional, rich and full.
Detail 4: Coerced confession
There were already more or less signs of this in the interrogation of Guang Hao before, but the second suspect has intensified.
A wretched uncle ran to the crime scene in the middle of the night to masturbate, and was caught. Not to mention embarrassment, but unfortunately became a criminal suspect. The result was a slap in the face. Especially after the big scandal when they forced Guang Hao to confess, the police became even more furious. With the pressure of the media and public opinion, coupled with these exposed plots, it is normal for the police to lose credibility.
Detail 5: Political tasks are greater than human life
After analyzing the rules of the murderer's crime, I already had a premonition that something was going to happen tonight. When it was necessary to use the police force to strengthen patrols and security, the answer given above was that the police force was insufficient, and they all went to suppress the demonstrations. This is in a vicious circle. The government's police cannot protect the civilians, and the civilians are dissatisfied with the demonstrations against the government. The government in turn uses the police to suppress the demonstrations, but there is not enough police force to protect the civilians. This endless loop is a real attack. Whether force is used to defend or to suppress is a question that the government must consider.
Having said that, let's analyze the character changes.
In addition to the two protagonists, I would like to add the role of Guanghao, because he has played a very important role as a witness from beginning to end. As long as he identifies, he can find and convict the real murderer.
What we see in Guanghao is a very representative image of the disadvantaged group. He has no status, is bullied and ostracized everywhere, and almost no one pays attention to him except his father. And because of this case, he became the focus, and at the same time, facing the intimidation of the police, he almost became a sinner, which made a character who was insecure in itself even more insecure.
In the barbecue shop, because of the credibility and reputation of the police, the police officers fought with the college students. And Guang Hao, who witnessed all this, was more like a frightened child, panicking and not believing anyone. In his eyes, the police are no different from a group of man-eating beasts. After the media revealed the scandal of extorting confessions, the police's attitude towards Guang Hao turned sharply. First, his conscience was hard to deal with, but the main thing was to appease him and not do anything. After going through all of this later, how does Guanghao, who has a simple mind, think about the policeman?
In the end, Guang Hao, who was too frightened, was hit and killed on the rails, and the pair of NIKE cottages he left looked very desolate. Around this pair of shoes, the creator has made a lot of articles. As an apology to Guanghao, Park Dooman bought these shoes for Guanghao, and Park Dooman was not rich, so he naturally had to be clever in order to save face. NIKE gave it away (when Su Taiyun disassembled these shoes, the embarrassment of the little citizen who couldn't save his face, it was very beautiful). I thought that these shoes were a symbol of easing relations and a family of police and citizens, but in the end, the two police officers shredded them with their own hands. When forcing Guang Hao to identify the murderer, what the police wanted more was the result that came out of Guang Hao's mouth. They did not give Guang Hao enough respect from beginning to end, even a "person" with self-consciousness. treatment.
Therefore, on Guanghao and the ending of the film, Guanghao left an open answer, so that the case does not have a clear result in the end, and the police's handling methods and awareness are the real blame. No matter how noble your starting point is, no matter how persistent you are, no matter how life-threatening your impact is, isn’t the witness standing in front of you, a living being more worthy of respect than the dead?
Then, talk about the role of Su Taiyun .
When he appeared, he had a halo and a label: professional, calm, and courageous, at least he looked more competent than Park Dooman. This is the first conflict between the two characters: Su Taiyun is an outsider, more professional, and more fanciful policeman, while Park Dooman is a passionate, energetic, but relatively brainless. (I don’t know each other if I don’t hit the kick above. Uncle Song’s strength is perfect. In addition, there are really many kicks in the film... Are the police really so domineering?)
Su Taiyun seized many subtle clues, presented the truth, and clarified the confession of the wronged suspect. As the case became more and more confusing, the murderer was close at hand, but it was the chest tightness hidden in the dark, and Su Taiyun began to change in the direction of Park Dooman. Impatient, impulsive, especially when dealing with Suspect No. 3, it is obvious that emotions have prevailed over reason. Professional police officers like Su Taiyun will gradually become like this. This also explains from one side. Maybe Park Dooman has not always been so rough. He also had a relatively young and calm time like Su Taiyun. It's just that I have come into contact with so many cases, and it is difficult to separate myself from the suffering of the victims. This is only because of the influence of anger.
And when the last victim, the female student who had an encounter with Police Officer Su, was brutally murdered, with insufficient evidence, Su Taiyun has begun to set up a private court. At this point, even the audience may not be able to look at it from the perspective of whether it is legal or not, so we are also experiencing the same torture as these two police officers.
Speaking of characters, I have to take it back to Park Dooman in the end .
The character is too fleshy and too plump to be real.
The opposite of Su Taiyun here is that when Su Taiyun gradually became emotionally intensified, Park Dooman seemed to have learned a little bit of reason and calmness (maybe it was also the accumulation of previous experience and lessons, and Su's style had a profound effect on him) Impact). At first, I felt that Su was finding fault with himself, but when it was time for him to make a great contribution and catch the prisoner, Su always stood up to question and pour cold water. But it was later discovered that what he and Su needed to find were the real murderer and the truth.
In the scene of the confrontation in the heavy rain, I am very gratified that Park Dooman, who had done so many wrong things before, actually stood on the side of reason and suppressed Su Taeyun's gun.
The playful jokes that were left before are echoed here. It's just that the mentality in the two cases is completely different. Before, it was just based on feeling, or with a bit of boasting. And here, he really wanted to have such an ability to gain insight into the truth. There is such an introduction at the beginning of the film, a rapist, a victim's brother, the two are sitting there taking notes, can you see who is the murderer under this limited condition? It seems to be a problem for Park Dooman, but it is also a problem for us in the whole film.
In the end, when you think about the third suspect Park Xinggui, can the audience's piercing eyes see through the truth, rather than simply being influenced by emotions?
At the end of the film, I still want to point out this picture, because it is too classic. Park Dooman, who has long since left the police force, has his own family, children and a more ambitious career. When passing by the crime scene by chance, after talking to a passerby girl, I found that the real murderer is still at large. So many years of whitewashing, covering up, escaping, and emotional repression broke out at this point or expression. A man, a lifelong obsession, is really not what it seems that it will be diluted by time.
Finally, let’s talk about some more powerful lens language.
After the autopsy episode, a close-up of a flesh-and-blood barbecue ties the shot. We all feel the impact for ourselves.
After the police officer was pierced by the nail plate in the fight, it was also the same barbecue scene. These two scenes can be summed up in one word "torture". Sound, does it feel like our hearts are bubbling along? This sensory magnification is really enjoyable to watch.
This Band-Aid was put on by Su Taiyun for the victim, a lively girl who has now become a cold corpse. Close-up and zoom in on the small action of tearing off the Band-Aid, especially when you take it off (patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder will feel relieved). It's too vivid to lose such a layer of scars.
So, the recommendation rating for this movie is very high for me. The plot progresses slowly, and it is not suitable for people who watch bloody and action movies. They will feel very boring, but these wonderful details require a person with very delicate emotions to watch, giving you a very different viewing experience. .
In some subsequent articles, I will add some valuable documentary reviews, which is a new attempt, because writing stories, plots, acting, and scenes, I also want to see if I can write some new ones. something to better show other types of videos.
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