The Chaser (2008)

Reading around the subject a little after Memories of Murder, this film cropped up due to the style of it. It wasn't the only film mentioned around it, but it was the one with the best cover/film poster. They say you shouldn't judge a book by the cover, does that hold for films.^[1]?

Based on a true story, The Chaser follows an investigation into a string of disappearances of young women - disappearances that had not been reported. The simple reason that people didn't seem to care was that they were prostitutes (or women working as prostitutes.^[2]) that had gone missing.
The pimp is an ex-police officer and he is annoyed about his girls disappearing - or running away. It is a simple employment dispute. When he notices that a few girls seem to have gone missing from the same customer, he thinks that the punter has sold them on and so he wants his money back. He is very protective of his assets although I cannot think they are thought of as people really. As he goes to find out what has happened to his girls, he flukily runs into the person and gives him a beating. Beatings seem to happen quite regularly throughout the film and it is fairly violent. After the beating, both the pimp and the punter are taken to the police where they are questioned and the punter admits to murdering a string of women - while he is in the police station, to the police officers. This should be the end of the film, but this is only about 20 minutes in - how is this one stretched out beyond that?! Quite well, actually with a few more twists and turns showing police "skill" and it helps that the pimp does not believe him. 

As entertainment, it is a pretty taut film and the fact that you know who has done what does, surprisingly, add quite a bit of tension. I guess the thing I found strangest was the fact that the police were turning a blind eye to a lot of violence and the fact that he was a pimp. I assumed this meant prostitution was legal in South Korea but apparently not [link], just widespread and accepted. If you know it is a true story, it does make some of the coincidences feel contrived and maybe added for dramatic effect but you cannot be sure. Well, I am not sure. 

The reservations I have are to do with the violence of some scenes, it is the first time I have kind of looked away from the screen in a film for about 15 years I think so it was pretty bad. Not in a blood splattered kind of way (which it was) but just an unflinching depiction in parts. Strangely, that is not consistent and some scenes were implied which struck me as a bit odd. In essence it is a pretty dark and dirty film which may not suit everyone and is not really suitable for a Sunday afternoon. I'd go as far as saying it is one of the darkest films I have seen due to the way the main characters are shown and the callousness of a lot of it - some of which may be cultural difference (as in it seems it to me but is actually not). It is also a particularly unflattering portrayal of the police involved, especially as the pimp is also an ex-police officer. This is similar to Memories of Murder in that respect. There are/were rumours of a Martin Scorsese remake [link] to presumably remove some of the cultural differences but you can never be sure how they turn out.
It was a good film, and it had a lot of buzz a few years back it seems but it definitely is not for everyone. Well not until it loses the foreign language, gets about twice as long and loses any type of moral ambiguity, anyway.

You can see a trailer for the Korean film here:

<sup>1. Actually, as film is a more visual medium, I think there is some merit in partially judging a film by its cover. And graphic novels are a type of book.↩
2. There is a very good sketch point by Stewart Lee and the point is made at enemies of reason here[link].↩</sup>

Memories of Murder (2003) / 살인의 추억

I've not seen a huge number of Korean films and can barely remember which ones I have seen other than the Vengeance trilogy that Oldboy is part of. Another thing that happens rarely is that people recommend films to me that are in a foreign language so this went quite high in my “interest piqued” list ^[1].

Memories of Murder is based in the South Korea of 1986 which was under a military dictatorship at the time. The timing does not seem too relevant but does explain some of the communication difficulties that seem a little odd. It is also based on a true story, but you can never be sure how truthful that means it is. Starting off, quite abruptly, in the middle of a field where a corpse is found in the middle of a rural part of Korea^[2] and kicks off a murder inquiry. The corpse found is of a young, attractive woman and there is evidence that she has been bound up, raped and murdered. Clearly, this is not common anywhere, but even less so in the small towns of Korea and so the police are not exactly best placed to deal with the investigation. They make a fist of it though showing the incompetence of their methods and brutality of gaining confessions. The main detective, played by Kang-ho Song who has been in a few better known Korean films such as “The Host”^[3] and two of the Vengeance trilogy, plays the lead detective convincingly as someone used to his methods and getting results. The first person they pick up “confesses” to the crime after a little violence meted out by the detective pairing and rehearses his confession to be taped outside. By this time, another investigator has come in to assist from the big city (Seoul) and is more than a little sceptical of the methods. The first person that is picked up is known around the town^[4] for being a little simple (or a “retard”) and so the special investigator is not convinced that he could have perpetrated such a complex crime and persuades the rest of the police team to let him go. But, of course, not until after they have embarrassed themselves in the town by publicly shaming him. As similar murders occur, and previous ones are found, the serial nature of the killings become apparent to build the tensions around.
As the rest of the film develops, the main point is about the tension between the older, simpler methods of the rural police force and the more analytical approach taken by the special investigator. Obviously, as time goes on, the more intelligent process does seem to be a little more successful but the original detective team only partake grudgingly and still think their methods work – resulting in a few more fights and beatings throughout the film. In many ways, there are some similarities with the excellent BBC series “Life on Mars” (with the ever brilliant John Simm) although achieved quite differently, the two main characters are clearly signifying instinct versus analysis.

As a film dealing with a fairly serious theme, the first half feels quite uneven in its treatment with a few moments seemingly played for comedy and it feels a little silly. The depiction of the first suspect (that has learning difficulties) seems to be almost entirely for light relief as does a lot of the violence at first. I am usually a fan of this type of flitting between seriousness and silliness but it did not seem quite right for me. It was not enough to put me off and I am glad I was not put off as once the momentum builds a bit, the second half of the film is excellent.
At the point where the analysis has yielded what appears to be a modus operandi, the tension around knowing/thinking about what will happen is really well crafted and from fairly early on, it is quite clear that major events can happen to any of the characters and so that tension is palpable.
The story is told fairly simply, with few gimmicks or tricks played on the audience so the strength of the narrative has to be sufficient to hold interest. This extends to the cinematography where there are very few flashy bits of camera work or transitions but it is made very competently – never obstructing what should be happening to the point where most will not even notice it. In that respect, it feels quite unstaged which is a great compliment for this kind of film. The story, being based on a true story, cannot stray massively from reality but it is dealt with well and still manages to be pleasingly ambiguous at the end. That, in itself is quite a bold finish to the story.

I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to those that like thrillers being a little different but to be wary of the uneven (by Hollywood standards) stylings of the first section. In fact, it may even persuade me to search out more recommendations from people I know rather than just from the wild internet.

Trailer here:

<sup>1. An entirely made up idea, but one that could be worth creating.↩
2. Gyunggi is not too far from Seoul, but the film suggests a dual Korea where there is Seoul and everything else.↩
3. This is also directed by the same person as this - Joon-ho Bong, who seems to be quite popular and so I may try to catch more of his films.↩
4. As it is a small town, everyone seems to be well known – quite a useful dramatic device but also kind of true.↩</sup>