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We got a kick out of this campy carnage comedy. Pretty well done, actually. Even LOL'd a few times.
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Look, I don't profess to watch half of the Korean movies a lot of you guys do. But I have seen my fair share so I am not a novice at least...after reading all of the testimonials from you heavy hitters, I rushed out to see this. Did I miss something? Better than Oldboy...um no. As a matter of fact this movie was kinda boring and the end on the train tracks(really, the results from America chose to get there just then????) was like a basketball game...5 minutes stretched into 40. I am confused and disappointed.
I know one of the few criticisms of the film is that it's a bit too long, but it's not like it's drawn out to the point of ruining the movie.
I hope you weren't expecting Memories of Murder to be similar at all to Oldboy. Not much similarity between the two besides that they are both Korean. MoM is not a bloody revenge-driven movie, it's all about the atmosphere, the outstanding cinematography, the characters, and setting (South Korea and the sheer incompetence of its criminal justice system). I also found the film refreshing because of its originality, as it's most certainly not your typical Hollywood murder mystery. Just little subtleties like the mannerisms of the autistic dude and the cloud of oppression that hangs over the detectives as they try to solve the case. Also, the movie gives a brilliant snapshot into South Korean society during the 80s when the country was undergoing a lot of political unrest.
My suggestion would be to maybe watch it again in a year or 2. Until then, if you want to see another Korean movie you should check out Chaser if you haven't seen it already, I think it'd be a lot more to your liking.
OOOOOf, even Adgy, who is a Herzog fan, would have a hard time defending this. If you can make it through to the end...I salute you.
I saw this in the theater and enjoyed it, actually. Very strange, no doubt, but I thought it was pretty funny in a Herzog type of way.
Wow you are truly a masochist. I have slogged through so many bad movies...never once walking out of a theater, but if this had been playing on an airplane...I would have walked out.