Memories of Murder

At the Wisconsin Film Festival 2010(wednesday april 14 to sunday april 18) they show South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s four feature films in a special series: “Crime Scene: Four Films by Bong Joon-ho.”

Barking Dogs Never Bite

summary
South Korea | 2000 | 106 min
narrative
Sat | Apr | 17 | 7:15 pm
Stage Door Theater
$7.00
Sun | Apr | 18 | 11:15 am
Stage Door Theater
$7.00
The first feature film by Bong Joon-Ho, whose three other features are presented at the Festival, Barking Dogs Never Bite introduces many elements that repeat in his later films: a hapless young man; a snack shop; a flying karate kick to knock the wing mirror off a car; the notion that all of us are capable of crimes both large and small.

Memories of Murder

summary

South Korea | 2003 | 132 min
narrative
Fri | Apr | 16 | 10:00 pm
Stage Door Theater
$7.00
Sat | Apr | 17 | 11:30 am
Stage Door Theater
$7.00
The Host’s Song Kang-ho stars as a rural detective investigating the still-unsolved case of South Korea’s first serial killer. The wild goose chase stretches on for years, perhaps because the backwater detective’s skills are, to put it kindly, unorthodox: his interrogation methods include high-flying karate kicks, and binge drinking.

Mother

summary

South Korea | 2009 | 129 min
narrative
Sun | Apr | 18 | 7:15 pm
Orpheum Main Theater
$7.00
Although Bong Joon-ho’s exceptional skill as a director of crime thrillers is deftly present here, his appreciation of a mother’s love — and the lengths to which this mother will go to protect her son — make this film a complex moral puzzle with a crisp plot and surprising emotional notes.

The Host

summary

South Korea | 2006 | 118 min
narrative
Thu | Apr | 15 | 10:15 pm
Orpheum Main Theater
$7.00
Born of toxic chemicals dumped into the Han River, a slimy behemoth rises from the shore to terrorize Seoul. When the monster captures a young girl, it falls on her amiably dysfunctional family to save the day. Director Bong Joon-ho juggles sci-fi thrills, slapstick comedy, and subtle political critiques to create a lively genre mash-up that puts most American blockbusters to shame. Big-screen entertainment of the highest order, Bong’s beloved international breakthrough seemingly managed to please everyone: the critics fawned, the geeks geeked out, and the popcorn crowd made it the top-grossing South Korean film of all time.

For more information about the schedule of Bong Joon-ho’s films and other films visit the website of Wisconsin Film Festival 2010.

Tickets

For more information about tickets visit the offical festival website.