Shilo_R_A

Fire Walk with Me is quite hard to sum up, but let's get to it - Lynch does here what he managed to do in Twin Peaks' most powerful moments, unfolding before us a world with a rich visual language, a violent darkness throbbing beneath the surface, nightmares that crawl into the light of day. The film has a lot of internal tension between light and darkness, violence and purity. The main theme is very meta, which, in my opinion, maybe could've been better balanced with the psychological aspects of it, but the great acting from the main cast and the vibes, as well as the plot, are enough to make this one into a good watch. I'd love to be able to connect even more to the characters, but even as it is, and despite knowing how it's all going to end, I was still invested in everything that was going on. A good one, but far from Lynch's best. I'm feeling a 7.7/10 on this one.

This will be a quick one, since I didn't care for this movie enough to write a long, deep-dive sort of review as I tend to do. Maybe there will be more like this one in the future, who knows.

Anyway, TL;DR: this movie tends to be ridiculous in pretty much every aspect - dialogue, plot, the way the characters are written. It just feels like some teenage edgelord has written a script unto which he can project his main-character fantasies, thinking he has something to say about fate and acceptance or whatever but ending up just making a movie that completely fails on every important front, except for being a little entertaining. 6.3/10 on this one.

So: I wouldn't say I've watched much foreign cinema so far, though I know I've tried to dive deeper into it since my review thing had started. I'm open to it, you know, but somehow most movies that catch my eye tend to be English speaking, probably because these ones are more mainstream, and usually reach a wider audience, me included. Anyway, that being said, I'd like to let you know that one of my favorite foreign films, and one of the tightest movies I've ever seen, really, is Parasite by Bong Joon-ho. When watching Parasite I didn't know much about the director, but since then I've heard quite a bit about this guy, and some other critically-acclaimed films that he has directed have made several appearances in my Letterboxd feed. The movie I'm reviewing today is the one that piqued my interest the most out of the bunch, so watching it seemed like a good way to get a bit deeper into this Korean director's body of work. Here we go. Let's talk about Memories of Murder.

Memories of Murder (2003) was inspired by the first confirmed serial murder case in South Korea, though it's rather loosely based on the historical events than an accurate depiction of solid facts, as far as I know. The country was deep in some other messes at the time as it is, so these murders really struck the nation at a time where everyone were pretty much on edge to begin with. The film follows the detectives who are trying to solve this case, each with their own personality, biases and approach to investigating. The movie shows how much pressure was on them, how the investigation was managed, and maybe more than anything it shows how we tend to bend reality to our will when things seem a bit more complicated to us than we'd like them to be.

Let's start with some technical stuff - first, editing. Now, it might be a bit weird to do so, but I can't help but compare this movie to Bong Joon-ho's later, better-known work that I've already watched - Parasite. I feel like though the editing is not as smooth as it will shape up to be in Parasite, you can already see how great his editing is, how scenes flow perfectly into each other, using similar compositions to connect different shots, or having on-point comedic timing that enhances the rhythmic experience of the movie. This trait, that's perfected in Parasite in my opinion, is shining quite a bit in this movie as well. He's already fully-realized as a director here, in a way, despite this only being his second film, and it never feels too amateurish or loose in that sense.

Cinematography-wise, the movie feels tight, balancing the gravity of all the characters in each frame in quite a solid way. It has a lot of strong, memorable shots - some of them haunting, foreboding, some are more funny and cartoonish. Goes to show you the versatility of the director, being able to pull strong shots with very different, distinct vibes. I also like the way the color grading works in favor of the movie mixing a crime story, drama and comedy. The shots taken near the tunnel in the final act are all especially powerful, leaving a strong impact on me, even in comparison to the other powerful shots that are strewn throughout the final act. I could discuss many more examples: the open fields that are pretty, immersive, sometimes making me a bit uneasy, and will probably stay with me for a while. The conversation under the tree, by the river, was really well-shot as well. Some shots use the eyes of the actors in a really powerful way, which brings me to another important aspect of the film: the cast.

The main actor, Song Kang-ho, who also plays a main role in Parasite, is pretty much great here. He delivers both the dramatic and the comedic aspects of his role, and it never feels too forced or stiff - he just slides into his character in a very natural way. The writing deserves some credit as well - this mixture of being both a sad and a funny character, both badass and petty, both smart and dumb, creates a rather unique protagonist - but it wouldn't have worked if not for Kang-ho. The way he communicates through his eyes is in itself enough to elevate his performance to something truly memorable. The characters are not exceptionally written or anything, just well-written, but the whole cast is very solid, I'd say, and it definitely enhanced my watching experience.

The main theme of this movie, in my eyes, is more than anything our need to bend reality to our will, to believe only what we wish to believe. Their detective work can be interesting and solid, but the focus is more about the helplessness in front of this impossible task, this monstrosity that can't be beaten. And Bong Joon-ho depicts the characters as multi-faceted, following faint leads in a very human, desperate way, trying to deny signs that tell them to look someplace else whenever they're on the wrong track. The first half of the film is pretty good, but the second half contains its strongest moments - it's more dramatic than funny, pulling you into any desperate attempt to put an end to everything. It's a really great final act, especially the tunnel scene - this gaping maw that has to be fed, this dark uncertainty. And the way with which the movie tells us that killers are just people, blending in the crowd, swarming beneath society's surface, is kind of chilling, to be honest. That's as good a place as any to add that the soundtrack is solid as well - full of sadness, somber, portraying both beauty and tragedy.

Memories of Murder is a solid, tight crime-thriller. It's very well-edited, with characters that have just enough depth to be interesting, and most of all it explores the helplessness we, as human beings, experience against true evil, and in the face of not finding the truth where the truth feels like the only remedy to a throbbing injustice. The ways we're trying to bend things to our will, and how dark it can get. Some haunting moments, especially in the final act, will probably stay with me for a while. I'm feeling a 7.6/10 on this one.