Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Here’s something to distract film lovers from the horrors of the world: Bong Joon-ho‘s 2003 crime drama, Memories of Murder, has been digitally remastered and re-released on-demand via NEON, after a two-night theatrical engagement last week.
If they didn’t know him from Snowpiercer already, American audiences got to know Bong thanks to Parasite, the South Korean thriller which became the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture last year. Cinephiles have had time to do their homework on his filmography—it helps that four of his films, including Parasite, are streaming on Hulu—but not every title is easily available in the U.S. In fact, until last week, Memories of Murder, one of his most celebrated films, never had a U.S. theatrical release.
The second feature film from Bong, Memories of Murder earned massive critical acclaim. Starring Song Kang-ho—a frequent Bong collaborator who also starred in Snowpiercer and Parasite—as a bumbling detective assigned to a serious case of rape and murder, it’s a crime drama that blends humor and horror in a way that will be familiar to anyone who saw Parasite. And, much like Parasite, Bong based the film on a real-life criminal case of serial killings—dubbed the Hwaseong serial murders—that took place between 1986 and 1991 in the city of Hwaseong, South Korea. Basically, for anyone who loves Parasite, Memories of Murder is essential viewing.
While Memories of Murder had previously been available to stream free on Amazon Prime, the streaming service removed the film last year, before Parasite opened in U.S. theaters. Audiences were left with no easy way to watch the film, save for overpriced DVDs on eBay. Thankfully, now you can buy or rent a beautiful, digitally remastered version of Memories of Murder on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, FandangoNow, or wherever you purchase digital content. It’s about $3.99 to rent, or $14.99 to buy, but the price may vary depending on the platform you use. Get to watching!
