8/7/2023 0 Comments Memories of murders lifetimeThis is a very different film though it takes the same approach to leaving the mystery unsolved. The final comparison I wanted to make was with another favourite of mine, which is David Fincher’s Zodiac. I certainly felt very cynical when I read afterwards the case had now been solved based on a ‘confession’.) (Although I also suspect Joon-Ho was making sociological points about Korean society. This is obviously not Joon-Ho ‘s intention, but the it caused me to ask the same question, ‘why did I watch this’? Having only seen it once I am not sure of the answer, but definitely think I would see a lot more when I rewatch it. In Blow-up the director is clearly interested in making philosophical points relating to existentialism and epistemology. The effect on me was similar to when I first watched that 20 or so years ago when I was left feeling ‘why did I watch this?’. It reminded me of another favourite film of mine, Blow-up (1966). Leaving the mystery unsolved instead led me to question what the point of the film was up to that point. However, it’s clear that at least in Memories of Murder, Joon-Ho is not interested in solving the mystery or creating suspense. I get the sense that with Hitchcock that he didn’t think that ‘mystery’ in films ever really worked and would always leave the audience unsatisfied.īong Joon-Ho is well known to be a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock. He said that if the mystery was too great and fantastic to begin with, the audience would always leave unsatisfied by any explanation. One other interesting side note I read from Hitchcock on this topic was that he had abandoned projects, such as a film on the Mary Celeste, because he felt they wouldn’t work. Though judging by his early films this was probably his sensibility anyway. Hitchcock of course, because of the Hayes code, had to solve the mystery in most of his films as criminals had to be shown to be punished. This was usually because Hitchcock was more invested in suspense than in a mystery. This usually happens about ¾ of the way through, though sometimes Hitchcock will clue us in on all the details in the first 30 minutes and then let the drama play out. Hitchcock’s solution was instead to ensure that the mystery was solved well before the finale. I think this is often, though not always, the case. He mentioned in his interview with Truffaut that he would never be interested in a murder mystery as ultimately all of the interest is tied up in the ending. One filmmaker who was very familiar with the problem was Alfred Hitchcock. The drama was so wrapped up in the solution to the mystery, when we finally get the answer it caused me to question why I really cared in the first place. I think that it was partially because it stretched my credulity and partially because I didn’t have much to take away from it. Although I generally quite enjoyed it, I found the ending ultimately unsatisfying. The night before watching Memories of Murder I watched Searching (2018). Nevertheless as I’ve grown older some of my favourite films have taken a very different approach and I wanted to spend a little time reflecting on the two approaches and my feelings towards them. Having grown up on a diet of British crime dramas and novels (Agatha Christie adaptations, Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Morse, Jonathan Creek), I am definitely a fan of good crime mystery in its closed format. I have been watching many films recently due to lockdown, especially Hitchcock and it got me thinking about the effect of leaving mysteries unsolved in drama. What struck me, however, was the ending and the way that the central mystery was left unsolved. I found it hilarious and sad, liked the cinematography and the general feeling. I recently watched Memories of Murder for the first time and enjoyed it greatly.
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