A serial-killer investigation in a Korean rural setting in Memories of Murder - Essay Example

March 10, October 23, 1986 A Serial-Killer Investigation in a Korean Rural Setting in Memories of Murder A serial killer is on the loose in South Korea during the 1980s. This is the plot and setting of a film that Joon-ho Bong wrote and directed, Memories of Murder, which was shown in 2003. The film belongs to the detective genre, but unlike other detective films, it portrays the humorous, social, and political dimensions of Korean culture and society, especially in the rural setting. A serial killer is raping and killing beautiful women during rainy nights. Two detectives are involved in finding and apprehending him: the local Detective Park Doo-Man (Kang-ho Song) and Seoul-native Detective Seo Tae-Yoon (Sang-kyung Kim), who are opposites of one another. Park has finished only two years of college and shows incompetence as a cop, while Seo completed a four-year-college course and uses scientific methods and insight to determine who the killer is. Despite Park’s poor investigation skills, he increasingly shows his development as a character and commitment in solving the crime. The film shows realistic scenes and credible acting skills, matched with an impressive musical score, that define, not only the challenges of police work in a rural community, but also the general social challenges in Korea. The story starts with the first dead body of a woman who is raped. Detective Park treats it like any other murder or homicide crime, using his questionable investigation techniques of tampering with evidence and forcing suspects to make confessions. When another dead body is seen in a rice field, Park fails to make a connection between the two. He just wants to finish the case fast (Cole), so he even frames up Kwang-ho, a mentally retarded man, but he fails on this regard. Later on, Detective Seo arrives from Korea who volunteers to help solve the crime. He sincerely wants to crack the crime using scientific methods. He also believes that a serial killer is murdering these women, and he presents his ideas to a higher police officer. They find a third victim’s body. At first, the killer stays within his “signature” of killing women during rainy nights, where women are exceptionally beautiful and sexy, while dressed in red. However, the serial killer breaks his pattern when he rapes and kills an ordinary-looking woman, who does not have any red clothing on her, in the rice field. These detectives follow other false suspect leads, until they realize that their previous suspect, Kwang-ho, must have witnessed one of the crimes. However, Detective Jo has beaten him up badly enough that when they tried to approach him, he runs toward a train and gets killed. These detectives further learn that someone requests for a certain song every time the killing happens. The detectives are never able identity who this requester is. Frustrations build up, especially as the two detectives seem farther and farther from resolving the crimes. The story follows a linear structure that is typical of detective films. It starts with the first body found, and then revelations of the bodies of other victims. Detectives Park and Seo work with other cops to examine the evidence and crime scenes. Slowly, they learn more about the killing methods of the killer (i.e. using the things of the victims to kill them, such as panty hose for strangling their necks, putting their panties on their faces, and tying hands with the same knot) and his preferences in his victims (i.e. almost all are sexy, beautiful, and wearing red dresses walking at rainy nights). The investigation, in addition, slowly reveals more information about the personality of the detectives and their society. Inspector Park is shown as the contrast of Seo. Park is biased and unsystematic, almost apathetic to the victims, while Seo is scientific in his approach and committed to his job. The film also shows the setting’s socio-economic and political issues. For instance, the rice fields show that the main livelihood of the people is agriculture. The surroundings also show rural poverty and political chaos. The mise-en-scene captures wide rice fields and old buildings. The police station and other interiors of buildings are shabby. The people’s costumes also demonstrate their poverty with faded clothing. Furthermore, the film includes social conflict. In one of the scenes, the president is passing on the road. The sharp contrast is seen between the first parts of the parade, where high school students wear traditional Korean dresses, but it rains, so they go for cover, and the next scene, which shows a riot against the president. The police are shown beating protestors. The violence and instability of the setting signify the economic hardships of the time that results to social unrest. Hunter agrees that Director Bong is “more interested in capturing a society in flux as illuminated by the crisis of the murder investigation.” Bong shows his ability to connect social issues to criminal aspects of the investigation. In a way, he seems to be saying that if the cops are ineffective, it is because they belong to a system that does not prepare them to be effective. Apart from these issues, the actors demonstrates convincing acting skills, where Kang-ho Song is a good actor because he seems to act like a real cop would, someone who is dealing with everyday basic human needs and police paper and legwork, as well as human flaws. For instance, in one scene, while interviewing a suspect, he asks for a receipt for his ordered food from a food seller. The seller says he did not ask him for it, which upsets Song because it is evident he needs it for his food or cash disbursement. Another scene shows him sleeping alone on the police station. The effect of these scenes is that it reminds the audience that the police are not robots that do not eat or rest because they are also people who have basic needs and issues. Song knows how to show a wide range of emotions, from hunger to exhaustion. In addition, Song also shows weakness as a person, with biases and indifference. Park is shown as an inept person who cannot even deal with a typewriter. His suspect even helps him operate it, which makes him a “punk” in his eyes. Furthermore, he is prone to manipulation, as when his lover mentions a story about Kwang-ho and implies that he could have killed one of the victims, Park easily believes her. He does not even check the facts, but assumes that hearsay is true. Furthermore, Song shows the wry humor of a cop who is dealing with different problems that are related to his investigation. An example is how he talks to his forensic team. He makes fun of them sliding down the rice field, but he does not laugh. This makes the scene funnier because he is serious in his criticism of the forensics team that is clumsy and lacks professional finesse in their movements. Probably, in a form of dramatic irony, the film shows that he is also like the forensics team- unprepared and hopeless in their police roles and duties. In addition, Song shows a cop’s frustrations in a society where detective work lacks glamour and respect in a rural community. By the time Detective Park sees the body of the second victim, he is trying hard to preserve the environment that can provide clues to the killer. However, whatever he says to the people around him, no one seems to mind and respect him. A tractor even drives over a precious shoeprint on the mud, while children run around the body and trample with potential evidence. Adult community residents are also looking at the site of the body, thereby tampering with the crime scene further. Their clothing and actions demonstrate their low-class status and poverty. Reporters have arrived too, reporting near the dead woman’s body. Nobody seems to see the police as a source of power and authority. The scene lacks a controlled police perimeter and the timely arrival of the forensics team. The whole scene, literally and figuratively, shows the incompetence of authorities in dealing with violent crimes because they themselves have unmet basic needs. Another humorous side is when Park feels that by looking at his suspects, the answer will come to him “instinctively.” His Chief jokes that he is a fortune teller if what he is saying is true. Song looks that he sincerely believes that his eyes “can read people” when his previous investigations merely shows him verbally abusing suspects (i.e. calling them punks) or asking leading questions (i.e. Did you find the girl pretty or sexy? The answer can incriminate the suspect). Bong shows how inept and un-instinctive he is when he leads Kwang-ho to admit a crime he did not do. He uses torture by letting another man, Inspector Jo, to beat Kwang-ho up. And then he eats with Kwang-ho later on as if he is not torturing him. Furthermore, Song looks hilarious as he changes a leading question several times over. After making up evidence (by using Kwang-ho’s shoes to create a foot print at the crime scene), he asks, “You killed all these women, right?” followed later by “So you didn’t not kill only Hyang-sook, correct?” He is clearly unfit as a police officer because he does not value or preserve the truth in his investigations. Detective Seo is Park’s foil because he is smart and open to learning. He looks bored and tired when he is at the interrogation scene of Kwang-ho at the police station. He shows how wrong Park is in trying to incriminate Kwang-ho when they are at the forest, and Kwang-ho pretends he knows everything, when he is actually clueless of what happened to Hyang-sook. Park later suggests that Park practiced the “confession” with Kwang-ho. In another scene, the close-up shots of Seo’s face as he examines the sketch of the scene of the crime shows that he has a systematic approach, unlike Park. He does not start with suspects and force them to admit the crime. Instead, he begins with the crime scene and studies the identity of the victims. The cinematography is well-executed with editing and lighting providing diverse functions in the film. The bright lighting on the bodies of the victims, as well as their surroundings opposes the usual shadowy effect done in other detective films. The impact is quite scary because the lighting indicates how deaths can be as ordinary and regular as anything done in broad daylight. The wide shot that includes the people and the rice fields underscore poverty in the setting. It shows that people are poor and the last thing that they are concerned of is catching a serial killer. In addition, Bong uses bright lighting inside the police station too. The deep focus shot allows viewers to see the foreground and background, such as for the scene when Park stares at the pictures of the suspects. The long shot shows the mise-en-scene of the prisoners at the back, Park’s table that has food, files, and notes, as well as the file cabinets around him that has numerous folders. All these are captured to demonstrate the cop in his actual work environment. It also lets the audience see how assuming and vain he is when he is incompetent as a police. When Detective Seo studies the evidence, including the photos, the police office is dark, which suggests that he is working after office hours. It helps sets the heavy mood of detective work on murder. The possibility of a serial killer increases the meaning of the shadows. When he uses flashlight to look closely into the details of the photos of the crime scene, especially the victims, the impact is a zooming into the evidence itself. Detective Seo demonstrates an objective and non-human-rights violation approach to determining who the killer is. In addition, as he studies the evidence in the dark, he is in sharp contrast with Park who is earlier shown sleeping in the office after work hours. Also, unlike Park who enjoys the media limelight during the photo shoot, Seo resists the photograph taking and goes on to his work. The mid-shot shows him as someone who is serious on solving the murder than getting his name published for it. For instance, he explains to his Chief, who is busy with the re-enactment of the crime with Kwang-ho and a man posing as Hyang-sook for the benefit of media coverage and the public’s peace of mind, that because Kwang-ho has webbed hands since birth, it is impossible for him to tie the knot three times around the victim’s neck. In addition, Seo is the one who points out similarities in the victims- they were all killed during rainy nights and they wore red clothing. He even says that there is a third victim, whose body they have not found yet because of her clothing and circumstances match that with the other two victims. The music by Taro Iwashiro sets the pace and mood of the film. Musical appearances are added when needed, such as in the opening scene, when the boy catches the locust, and the investigation of Detective Seo in the dark. The music intends to make the audience feel the sadness of death and the shortness of human life. Another example is the faster tempo of the music as the camera zooms into the news headlines after the failed Kwang-ho incident. The music shows frustration and sadness. An example of good suspense music is during the pursuit of the victim in the rice field. At first, the woman is only singing the tune she hears from the radio, as she walks during the rainy night, until she hears someone singing with her. She uses her flashlight to check if someone is in the fields, but sees nothing, although the music suggests differently. As the music picks up, the attacker comes out quickly from below the rice field and grabs the woman. This is an effective use of music that increases the tension for viewers. When the music is absent, the lack of music enables the audience to focus more on the characters and their speech and behaviors. For instance, the media fiasco with Kwang-ho’s re-enactment of the crime has no music in it. Instead, the audience sees Park dragging Kwang-ho in the mud, while the reporters run after them. On the background, the police line and onlookers are watching at the police’s stupidity. The absence of music increases the realism of the crime, as well as the tensions around it- the frustration of the police in finding the killer fast and the apathy of the public for the suspects. Another example is the part where Seo walks in the rice field, as he looks for the third victim’s body. Without background music, people can hear the swishing of rice stalks and the wind. Something about the silence is creepy, as if the killer is just in the environment. Later on, a faint music is added, which underscores the heaviness of death and anticipation in the scene. Apart from the use of effective music, the film shows the impact of the Korean Wave, but unlike pop culture, is it unafraid of exposing social illnesses. Xiaowei Huang believes that media is used to oppress the masses by passing on cultural values of domination (123), but Director Joon-ho Bong does not seem to support this goal. Instead, he exposes the superficiality of the Korean society that uses violence to control people into accepting their socio-economic conditions. William Tuk notes Korean films that became worldwide blockbusters because of their Korean cultural and social elements (13). Bong also ensures that his film is Korean in its texture and appeal through expressing Korean situations, values, and behaviors. For example, he shows the humor of making up for a wronged suspect. Park buys fake shoes for Kwang-ho, which is funnier because it is typical in rural societies to buy fake brands due to poverty and because it seems to symbolize his fake gesture of asking for forgiveness in an indirect way. Korean humor and culture help the audience appreciate the Korean aspects of the film. The film also affirms the Korean Wave’s love for mainstream plots through Korean history and culture. Dal Yong Jin talks about the commodification of art through the Korean Wave (4). Indeed, Memories of Murder also shows commodification by working on a detective film on serial killers that is already a popular genre, especially in America. Doobo Shim explores cultural hybridization in Korean Wave cultural products as “…local cultural agents and actors interact and negotiate with global forms, using them as resources through which Koreans construct their own cultural spaces, as exemplified in the case of rap” (38). Memories of Murder combines the whodunit genre with cultural aspect by localizing the humor and setting of the film. Korean humor is present in slapstick comedy that is not the simple Western variety, but has the rawness of Asian simplicity. The film is worth seeing because of its entertainment and cultural value. As part of the Korean Wave, it is one of the finest films because it does not glorify detectives. Instead, it shows them as they are- exposed with their weaknesses and their society’s weaknesses. Furthermore, the film is highly entertaining with the antics of the police. I laughed at how vain Park is and admired his changes as a person and as a cop. I never stopped admiring Seo for his intelligence and commitment. These two are worth watching, as well as the plot that follows a serial killer’s every step, his every move that seems to evade even the most devoted cops, who are doing their best to stop the crimes despite their limited resources and skills. The audience should watch this now, while the evidence is still fresh, while they can still pursue the killer at his tracks. Works Cited Choi, Jinhee. The South Korean Film Renaissance. Connecticut: Wesleyan U P, 2010. Print. Cole, Jake. “Memories of Murder.” Cinelogue 18 June 2011. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Huang, Xiaowei. “Korean Wave- The Popular Culture, Comes as Both Cultural and Economic Imperialism in East Asia.” Asian Social Science 5.8 (2009): 123-130. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Hunter, Stephen. “Memories of Murder: From Korea, a True Original.” The Washington Post 29 July 2005. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Jin, Dal Yong. “The New Korean Wave in the Creative Industry: Hallyu 2.0.” II Journal (2012): 3-7. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Memories of Murder. Dir. Joon-ho Bong. Perf. Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, Roe-ha Kim. CJ Entertainment, South Korea. Film. Shim, Doobo. “Hybridity and the Rise of Korean Popular Culture in Asia.” Media Culture Society 28.1 (2006): 25-44. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Tuk, William. “The Korean Wave: Who are Behind the Success of Korean Popular Culture?” Leiden University. (MA) History of European Expansion and Globalization. Thesis. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. Read More