Memories of Murder (2003)
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: 33 wins & 5 nominations
Memories of Murder blends the familiar crime genre with social satire and comedy, capturing the all-too human desperation of its key characters.
If you’re looking for a true crime thriller that’s not your typical schlocky torture-porn, then Memories of Murder is the movie for you. Bong Joon-ho’s masterful direction takes you on a thrilling and stomach-churning ride through a frustrating investigation into a rural South Korean serial killer. The characters are lunkheaded, at times cruel and hateful, but somehow indescribably moving. And just when you think you know what’s coming, Bong hits you with a tonal shift that will leave you face to face with true evil. So grab some popcorn and get ready for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Sidus C J Entertainment, Muhan Investment
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
South Korea
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2003
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:NA
-
Language(s):Korean, English
-
Country of origin:Korea (South)
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2003 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 9, 2005
Genre(s)
Drama/Crime
Keyword(s)
starring Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha, Song Jae-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Noh-shik, Baek Kwang-ho, directed by Bong Joon Ho, written by Bong Joon Ho, Shim Sung-bo, drama, crime, mystery & thriller, $14.1K box office, reviewed by Kristy Puchko, Barry Hertz, Brian Tallerico, Peter Bradshaw, Danny Leigh, Bilge Ebiri, Daisy Leigh-Phippard, Steph Green, Cole Smithey, David Harris, DarkSkyLady, MPAA rating N/A, produced by Cha Seung-jae, Jong-yun No, Kim Moo-ryung
Worldwide gross: $1,166,717
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,891,099
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,431
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 206,227
US/Canada gross: $15,357
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $24,892
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,794
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,487
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $7,273
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,764
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,800,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $4,538,441
Production budget ranking: 1,926
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,443,950
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$5,091,293
ROI to date (est.): -73%
ROI ranking: 1,823
Kim Sang-kyung – Det. Seo Tae-yoon
Kim Roi-ha – Det. Cho Yong-koo
Song Jae-ho – Sgt. Shin Dong-chul
Byun Hee-bong – Sgt. Koo Hee-bong
Park Noh-shik – Baek Kwang-ho
Director(s)
Bong Joon Ho
Writer(s)
Bong Joon Ho, Shim Sung-bo
Producer(s)
Cha Seung-jae, Jong-yun No, Kim Moo-ryung
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
33 wins & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (79) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (4)
Memories of Murder is precisely what you’d expect from Bong.
December 3, 2020
Kristy Puchko
Pajiba
TOP CRITIC
Tracing a long, frustrating, and at times darkly funny investigation into the crimes of a rural South Korean serial killer, Memories of Murder is a thrilling and stomach-churning ride.
October 24, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Barry Hertz
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Bong elevates every scene with his unbelievably assured filmmaking.
October 19, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Tallerico
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Memories of Murder is a great satire of official laxity and arrogance, and its final scene is very chilling.
September 11, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Most telling of all is that tone, the slow, deep nuancing of what once felt cartoonish, the antic slapstick that suddenly turns sombre. With Bong, you never see what’s coming. And then you’re face to face.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
How the hell does a film this tonally out there, with characters this lunkheaded and at times even cruel and hateful, manage to be so indescribably moving?
August 15, 2017
Bilge Ebiri
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
We should all know by now that Bong’s stories are never just what they at first seem to speak in a Parasite analogy, you have to go into the basement.
February 21, 2022
Daisy Leigh-Phippard
Screen Queens
Memories of Murder isnt the slick, schlocky, torture-porn type of true crime thriller so popular at the moment; its a devastatingly sad look at a country gasping to stay afloat.
February 10, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Steph Green
WeLoveCinema
Suspense, slapstick, and irony blend into a heady filmic concoction.
February 8, 2022 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Memories of Murder looms large in Bong’s filmography, one that has moved from a shadowy apparition to easily accessible.
January 11, 2022
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
Memories of Murder weaves humor, frailty, ego and true evil into a sharp paced film that still holds up 13 years later.
September 25, 2021
DarkSkyLady
DarkSkyLady Reviews
Memories of Murder is an unsettling production with an atmosphere that lingers long after the credits roll.
August 11, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Stefan Pape
Common Sense Media…
Plot
In 1986, in the province of Gyunggi, in South Korea, a second young and beautiful woman is found dead, raped and tied and gagged with her underwear. Detective Park Doo-Man and Detective Cho Yong-koo, two brutal and stupid local detectives without any technique, investigate the murder using brutality and torturing the suspects, without any practical result. The Detective Seo Tae-Yoon from Seoul comes to the country to help the investigations and is convinced that a serial-killer is killing the women. When a third woman is found dead in the same “modus-operandi”, the detectives find leads of the assassin.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Song Kang-ho plays the role of Detective Park Doo-man in Memories of Murder.
Bong-Joon-Ho.jpg
