Movie - Salinui chueok (Korean, 2003)

Second Korean movie we've seen, there's some quality stuff from there finally making it over here. Title's translated as 'Memories of Murder' in English. Wonderful movie. Well done, well shot, well acted. Based on real events, the murderer was never caught.

After a second gruesome rape and murder happens in a small town, an urban detective from Seoul is sent to assist the local cops, and it's a desperate race to find the killer as the murders pile up. The most compelling storytelling centers on the opposing cop personalities and techniques. Small-town cop vs. city detective.

- Small town cop has an intense desire to bring criminals to justice by any means necessary. Old-school - walks the beat, hunts down the usual suspects, shakes trees. Crime analysis and prisoner rights are useless to him, which is reasonable considering the small town offenses he usually deals with. He goes with his gut, but it's not always accurate. He beats and coerces confessions from shady but innocent people. He screams about people contaminating his crime scenes, then throws his own cigarette butts at the crimes. His partner has a special bootie to keep his shoe clean when he's kicking suspects.

- City detective. Follows procedures, conducts investigations with a mind to having things hold up in court. Presumes suspects innocent until enough evidence has been gathered. Analyzes crimes and tries to get into the criminal mindset. Thinks brutish techniques are out-dated and useless, and sneers at the 'thug' country cops.

You follow the investigation and get the same info the cops have, and you face the same uncertainty and certainty of each suspect's guilt. By the end, the cops have switched places. It's all told within the framework of the larger social forces around them, both local and national (demonstration riots, forced local blackouts). It's a skillful study on so many levels.