Incredibly, already classic for me (spoilers)
About once a year this film calls to me and I have to go back and watch it again.
Remembering the experience I had seeing it for the first time ten years ago, I put it on now and that same feeling washes over me. The soundtrack and that foggy feeling of 1980's rural Korea.
There are so many positive things about this film that I can watch it repeatedly and appreciate it on so many levels. I love the narrative arcs of the central characters. How the two detectives essentially switch positions in their investigative methodology (from abusing suspects to doing it the right way and vice versa). How ironic as well that the most abusive cop ends up losing that same leg that he used to beat the suspects, and he loses it after being hit with the nail from the very person he abused the worst.
There's a sequence in this film that might be my favorite in any film I've ever seen. It begins when the rain drops fall and "Woman in the Rain" plays. The plan of course is to wait for it to rain and try to bait the suspect, but when the music starts the first thing we see is the woman pulling the laundry down quickly to get out of the rain. Dozens of school children run screaming for shelter. It shows the obvious disillusionment with the government but also that any normal, healthy person would want to get out of the downpour. In this sequence the only other people out in the rain are angry protesters, violent police and of course the deranged murderer. It really captures the feeling of the negative cycle of violence between police and civilians in Korea at the time. The sequence also strikes all the right cords with emotion and tone. It has an unsettling, suspenseful undertone even though it's energetic and there is a bit of dark humor within it. It feels like one of those rare moments in cinema where for a couple of minutes, literally everything is clicking into place perfectly.
The movie has a strong feeling of loss of innocence. There's the obvious symbolism of the children playing near the dead bodies and the maturing of the central characters that happens by the end when they realize their limitations. But then there's this feeling of having watched an entire nation grow up. That probably sounds a little crazy to say but watching how the elements of this story unfold, and knowing how incredibly fast Korea has rocketed into the forefront of the modern world over the past 30 years, it's kind of hard to ignore. Being held accountable for beating suspects, learning to conduct an investigation the proper way, the cops realizing the limitations of their resources again and again as they are continually having to ask and wait for outside help, and ultimately realizing that there is no resolution to every problem, because sometimes the problems are too big and too modern and difficult to be handled at the time and the argument is simply to muddled to get the clear cut answers that they need. It's embarrassing, difficult and traumatic for the characters and the people.
And clear cut answers are exactly what you would get in almost any typical, formulaic police procedural movie that you would normally see. The lack of resolution in this story is what gives this movie its extra life. I can enjoy it for its genre type characters and movements, but it has lasting power because it's a true piece of nostalgia and mystery.
I can understand why some might not like it for those very same reasons described. Perhaps it's too allegorical or melodramatic or any of the various complaints about this movie. For me though, this one really hits home. I think this has to be one of the greatest movies of all time.
And despite What some people say about the ending, i think it's perfect and I see it as a positive. The detective has matured as a result of his experiences, and though he didn't get the explanation he wanted and solve the case, the painful and traumatic memories serve as a motivator to persist and do well in the future, and if I interpret this film correctly, that reflects the attitude of the nation as a whole.