Special Bong Joon-ho
Hits from the Bong:

Memories of Murder (2003)

Hoezo in KINO

Bong Joon-ho’s atmospheric crime thriller was only his sophomoric outing but heralded the arrival of an artist in complete control of his craft. Based on the serial killings committed in the Korean countryside near Hwaseong between 1986 and 1991, Memories of Murder explores not only the heinous acts themselves but also contemplates the impact on the community and the suffocating hierarchical bureaucracy that impeded the killer’s capture for so long. A bleak masterpiece that leaves a lasting impression. 

Credits

Regie
Bong Joon-ho
Cast
Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha, Song Jae-ho
Genre
crime, drama, thriller
Speelduur
131 minuten
Land
Zuid-Korea
Taal
Koreaans, Engels
Ondertiteling
Engels

Storyline

1986 Gyunggi Province. The body of a young woman is found brutally raped and murdered. Two months later, a series of rapes and murders commences under similar circumstances. And in a country that had never known such crimes, the dark whispers about a serial murderer grow louder. A special task force is set up in the area, with two local detectives Park Doo-Man and Jo Young-Goo joined by a detective from Seoul who requested to be assigned to the case.

We’re pretty confident in stating that Bong Joon Ho is a Rotterdam man at heart. Since his debut full-length feature, the Korean maverick director has premiered most of his films at IFFR and even when Oscar immortality was upon him in 2020, Bong somehow found the time to host a masterclass in our fair city. With two films in the making – his much anticipated sci-fi Mickey17 and an animated feature both set for 2025 releases, we are very excited to announce that we’re screening all but one of his films (Okja is not available for theatrical exhibition) this summer.

We are ecstatic that three time Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho took the time between finishing two(!) new projects to chat with us about his films and his love for cinema. We kick off here with Bong’s salute to the KINO audience, but you can catch other segments of the conversation in our cinema preceding the upcoming screenings.