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Memories of Murder

Mystery. Thriller South Korea in 1986 under the military dictatorship: Two rural cops and a special detective from the capital investigate a series of brutal rape murder. Their rude measures become more desperate with each new corpse found. Based on a true case.
Author Review
United StatesUnited States
Variety
Variety
"A powerful, slow-burning portrait of human fallibility. "  POS
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The Independent
The Independent
"The film ends with a masterly closing touch that no mainstream mystery thriller would countenance: a big question mark and a sense of enduring unease. This, surely, is the stamp of a truly satisfying mystery thriller"  POS
United StatesUnited States
Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
"[Bong Joon-ho] made his feature debut with the grisly black comedy 'Barking Dogs Never Bite' (2000), but this one (2003) is far more ambitious and nuanced."  POS
United StatesUnited States
The New York Times
The New York Times
"[It] is such a taut, effective thriller it's a shame you have to read subtitles to gauge just how good a movie it is (...) [It] works better than most Hollywood thrillers"  POS
United StatesUnited States
AV Club
AV Club
"Bong plays most of the events for broad, uproarious comedy while still managing a devastating undercurrent of sadness. It takes enormous skill to pull off such a high-wire act without diminishing the gravity of the situation"  POS
United StatesUnited States
Village Voice
Village Voice
"[It] has lost none of its power to unsettle, and today it feels even stranger than ever"  POS
United StatesUnited States
Slant
Slant
"The film sometimes feels like an episode of 'CSI': Korea (...) The film is overlong at 132 minutes, but never dull or predictable (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"  NEU
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
Screendaily
Screendaily
"'Memories Of Murder' is one of the most complete and compelling films to have come out of South Korea in recent years (...) [It] is by turn mysterious, dramatic, creepy and corroding (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"  POS
United StatesUnited States
rogerebert.com
rogerebert.com
"While it may have taken way too long for 'Memories of Murder' to get a wide U.S. release, there’s something rewarding about seeing it in artistic conversation with his biggest hit (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"  POS
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