Memories of Murder

In 1986, in Hwaseong County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on a sweltering summer day, a woman's corpse was discovered at the edge of a field, already stinking. Local police officer Park (played by Song Kang-ho) and investigator Su (played by Kim Sang-kyung) from Seoul took over the case. The only thing confirmed was that the deceased had been raped before her death. The severe lack of clues left the inexperienced officer Park and his partner Cho (played by Kim Ro-hee) to rely on brutal interrogations and gut feelings, leading them to extract confessions from several suspects. In contrast, officer Su remained objective and calm, dismissing several suspects through logical analysis. The police department was in turmoil trying to reconcile and overturn conflicting evidence, while innocent women continued to be brutally murdered one after another, forcing them to reach a consensus to cooperate. At this point, a young man (played by Park Hae-il) who closely matched the profile of the suspect became the prime suspect. The police tightened their focus on him, and DNA test results were sent to the United States; however, the case did not stop there. This film was awarded Best Asian Film at the 16th Tokyo International Film Festival.