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Memories of Murder

Memories of Murder

Crime · Drama · Thriller · 2003

A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.

Movie details

Memories of Murder

“The worst of them will stay with you... forever.”

2003 Crime · Drama · Thriller 2h 11m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.1 / 10

Community rating

A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Memories of Murder?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Bong Joon Ho

Written by

Bong Joon Ho · Shim Sung-bo

Song Kang-ho

Song Kang-ho

Detective Park Doo-man

Kim Sang-kyung

Kim Sang-kyung

Detective Seo Tae-yoon

Kim Roi-ha

Kim Roi-ha

Detective Cho Yong-koo

Song Jae-ho

Song Jae-ho

Sergeant Shin Dong-chul

Byun Hee-bong

Byun Hee-bong

Sergeant Koo Hee-bong

Go Seo-hee

Go Seo-hee

Officer Kwon Kwi-ok

Ryu Tae-ho

Ryu Tae-ho

Jo Byung-soon

Court is in session

Put Memories of Murder on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.