Memories of Murder (2003) is an iconic film about an unsolved South Korean serial murder case from the 1980s.
Korean films often feature social commentary, and Joon-ho excels in this, as seen in his recent Mickey 17 (2025). These five shots in Memories of Murder carry emotional weight and are visually powerful, even without dialogue.
Plot details of Memories of Murder (2003)
I recently saw this crime thriller masterpiece, which is quite late, I admit, but I couldn’t stop praising it enough. The opening scene hit me like a freight train, but as the film progressed, I felt somewhat disconnected.
I was wrong. After half an hour, I felt like being slammed against a wall. The story is based on Lee Choon-jae’s serial killings of ten women in Hwaseong, South Korea, between 1986 and 1991.
The film focuses on two detectives assigned to solve the case, but they were completely unable to get their hands on the culprit. The murderer had a strikingly visible pattern of serial murders, making it the country’s first documented serial killer.
Five wordless shots in Memories of Murder (2003) ranked
Directed by the visionary director, Bong Joon-ho, whose Parasite (2020) set a first-ever record of a foreign language film winning several Academy Awards in the categories of direction, original screenplay, best picture, and international feature.
5. Park’s unreadable face during interrogation
Detective Park Doo-man (played by Song Kang-ho) delivered a powerful expression while the suspect was getting a brutal beating. The scene showed his frustration and blank desperation because the case was going nowhere.
He was neither being heroic nor served justice to the victims. The camera lingered on his face to unveil the true reality of police investigation, even if clueless, proceeding with mere intuition and violence without authentic evidence.
4. The girl in a red dress walking before her death
The red dress and rain symbolized a visual warning sign that the murderer will be in sight somewhere. The audience has the fear building inside them that he is coming, and that dread is palpable.
It is the haunting metaphor coming on our screens with an unseen terror. The slow pacing of the red dress girl is a scary, silent scene in the film.
3. The tunnel chase
This mum scene was a classic representation of running after the chaos blindly. The detective kept chasing the suspect into the dark tunnel with flickering beams signifying pandemonium.
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It seemed as if they were chasing the light at the end of the tunnel, but were still far away from it. They were far from solving the case, denoting a futile hope. It was clearly directionless and frantic, but still showed the detectives’ determination to solve the case, despite an internal descent into helplessness.
2. Detective Seo’s breakdown in the rain
Detective Seo (played by Kim Sang-kyung) loses his cool in the rain and screams at the top of his lungs, knowing that the suspect is the killer and cannot manage to arrest him.
The detective is shown to be a methodical investigator, relying heavily on logic and evidence-based methods of investigation. He embodies a powerful character, adopting an analytical approach to solving the case.
He soon became easily frustrated with the justice system, leading him to lose his belief. His haunting depiction of failure lies solid in the screaming shot with a washed-out face in the muddy field. No one around him speaks, as everyone knows nothing can be done.
1. The ending scene
Detective Park Doo-man stares into the camera, clueless about who the murderer could be, but tries to find him by looking directly into the camera. The director Bong Joon-ho mentioned something about this scene:
“I always imagined that when it’s released, maybe the murderer will come and watch. I really hoped to make the failed detective have eye contact with the murderer, who is sitting in the very comfortable seat of the multiplex theatre. The fourth wall is often broken for dramatic or comic effect, but how often to stare into the eyes of a real-life murderer.” [Source]
Breaking the fourth wall is the moment when the typical filmmaking conventions are broken. Joon-ho wanted the detective to speak directly to the audience, where the invisible wall of the theatre screen might have been broken.
The scene shows the helplessness of the detective, yet it is still the strongest amongst all. His gaze says it all; it’s a plea, or possibly an accusation, that the serial killer is still out there. He could be anyone or even one that the detective is looking at right now.
Do you think the ranking order justifies the intensity of these wordless scenes from Memories of Murder (2003)? We are ready to hear your thoughts.
Passionate Entertainment Writer | Trusted Pop Culture Voice
Madiha Ali is an experienced entertainment writer with over five years of expertise in covering movies, TV shows, celebrity news, and pop culture. Her bylines appear on trusted platforms like High on Films, Ary News, The Express Tribune, Tea and Banter, Show Snob, CelebFeedz, Snapfeedz, Daily Planet Media, The Irish Insider, and Movie Insiderz.
She brings a personal, insightful approach to every story—whether she’s analyzing the emotional layers of a film or giving her take on trending celebrity headlines. Madiha’s writing style is known for being authentic, well-researched, and reader-focused.
When she’s not writing, she’s fully immersed in the world of entertainment—watching new releases, revisiting classics, exploring behind-the-scenes content, or reading books that fuel her creativity. Her passion for storytelling drives her work and helps her stay connected to what matters most in the industry.
Madiha believes great stories start conversations, challenge perspectives, and stay with us long after the credits roll. Through her writing, she continues to share those stories with clarity, depth, and heart.
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