Memories of Murder

Aroview: A darkly lyrical thriller, set around the true-life hunt for South Korea’s first documented serial killer in 1986, during the years of Chun Doo-hwan’s infamous military dictatorship.

Initially making comedy out of the police detective’s inept and crude methodology, amateur CSI ‘deductions’ and suspect abuse, as enigmatic clues begin to mount, a slithering sense of unease pervades the narrative. Blurring the usual points of moral certainty, the film gradually transforms into an incisive critique of Korean national apathy in the face of a corrupt system. Beautifully shot and hauntingly atmospheric.