11/11/2022 0 Comments Memories of a murderer![]() ![]() In Mother, the leap from prosperity to reality is never made because its outset provides the viewer with enough awareness of the film’s realism to the point that the corruption of the modern legal system is never in question. The darkness of the gruesome murder that opens the film after the serene environment of the golden rice field establishes the hope for the future of South Korea that is quickly ripped away at the ensuing realization of the oppressive police force. The potential for democracy was tangible, but not quite a reality, but with the military and police state at full, unchecked empowerment. #Memories of a murderer archiveIn Joseph Jonghyun Jeon’s article, Memories of Memories: Historicity, Nostalgia, and Archive in Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder, he states, “coinciding with the end of Chŏn Tu-hwan’s military dictatorship in 1988 the appearance of violent crimes in the sleepy rural villages in which the film is set serves as a synecdoche for the vexing emergence of Korean modernity in general.” This quote determines Memories of Murder setting in the history of South Korea as an essential turning point. Upon investigation, they let their violent tendencies get the best of them to discover the killer’s identity as fast as possible. In Memories of Murder, however, there is an innate curiosity and desire among the detectives to find the killer due to the threat posed to human life and civil society. The police themselves lack empathy in both murder cases central to each film. The double-feature they produce paints a picture of decline in trust of the public institution of the police to solve and prevent crimes from happening, all stemming from the authoritative stamping out of protestors and enforcement of undemocratic political systems in the 1980s accurately and ethically. The connections and developments between the two films are meant to be procured by the viewer and are not hidden by Bong Joon-ho, as exemplified by the opening shots. Mother begins in a South Korea that has been reeling from corruption for several decades it has taken its toll on the life and expectations of the average citizen. The prosperity symbolized in the opening of Memories of Murder is in a way found here. In her search for the real killer, she encounters indifferent and ineffective police officers, cynical lawyers, and civilians who have taken the law into their own hands, adopting fascistic methods in the process. The film follows a mother, played by Kim Hye-ja, who is trying to absolve her disabled son of murder accusations of a young woman. Mother, taking place in a modern setting, carries over these themes to the present and, in doing so, shows how the corruption of political institutions has degraded the legal system and society. These emerging traits are recognized externally by the detectives but also perpetuated by them as an arm of the corrupt and undemocratic government. Throughout the film, this prosperity and hopeful outlook for the future is wiped away as cruelty, corruption, and authoritarianism begin to take hold of the society. #Memories of a murderer serialMemories of Murder, which takes place in the late 1980s, use South Korea’s turbulent political unrest during the protest movement for democracy to backdrop the brutal serial killings of young girls in rural parts of the country. The two films share several plot points, but their distinct settings show how Korea has evolved between the events of each film in director Bong Joon ho’s filmography. ![]()
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