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Title: The Real Crime Is Sergeant Hee-bong Koo's Karaoke
Review: I was not familiar with director Bong Joon-ho's work before watching SALINUI CHUEOK (the film's original title), but as it unfolded, I found to my delight that I was in the hands of a master.Police detectives take unexpected pratfalls in rice fields, and just as unexpectedly, deliver flying kicks to innocent people with little provocation. As the rural police bungle various leads, one fears that the movie might be some horrible hybrid of hard-boiled slapstick. Not to worry. By the time MEMORIES OF MURDER gets to its poetically ambivalent ending, I wanted to applaud. Kudos to Song Kang-Ho (playing Sergeant Hee-bong Koo), who gives a performance that sneaks up on you. This is a very good film, and I look forward to more of Joon-ho's work in the future, notably the most profitable film in Korean history, HAN (2006).The film is unrated, but does feature the aforementioned police brutality and an arrhythmical karaoke performance.
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