One of South Korea's box-office smashes of 2003, Memories of Murder is the latest film from acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho, who dazzled MIFF audiences in 2001 with Barking Dogs Never Bite. Part atmospheric thriller, part low-key comedy, part detective story, part dissection of South Korea itself, Memories of Murder is set around the hunt for the country's first known serial killer.

The tone of the film is set during the opening scene, an investigation into the first grisly murder. A body has been discovered in a ditch beside an open field and the police arrive to investigate. Instead of conducting themselves in an orderly manner, the bungling cops mishandle the crime scene and destroy the evidence. When two murders follow soon after, the police become desperate and attempt to extort a confession from the town's simpleton'they even toy with the idea of using a shaman to apprehend the culprit! Not to be defeated, a 'cool' detective is recruited from Seoul to solve the crimes. By turns gripping and darkly humorous, Memories of Murder never fails to entertain, and reaffirms South Korea's reputation for producing some of the world's most genre-defying cinema.

D Bong Joon-ho P Kim Moo-ryung S Bong Joon-ho, Shim Sung Bo WS CJ Entertainment L Korean w/English subtitles TD 35mm/Col/2003/127mins

Bong Joon-ho was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1969. Films include: Incoherent (1996, short), Barking Dogs Never Bite (MIFF 2001).