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Confession of Murder

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Confession of Murder
Korean release poster
Directed byJung Byung-gil
Written byJung Byung-gil
Produced byLee Yong-hee
Jang Won-seok
Yoo Jeong-hoon
StarringJung Jae-young
Park Si-hoo
CinematographyKim Ki-tae
Jeong Yong-geon
Edited byNam Na-yeong
Music byKim Woo-geun
Production
company
Dasepo Club Co. Ltd
Distributed byShowbox
Release date
  • November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08)
Running time
119 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$18.8 million[1]

Confession of Murder (Korean: 내가 살인범이다; Hanja: 내가 殺人犯이다; RR: Naega Salinbeomida; lit. "I Am the Murderer") is a 2012 South Korean action thriller film directed by Jung Byung-gil, starring Jung Jae-young and Park Si-hoo. It is about a police officer who is haunted for failing to capture a serial killer 15 years back, and returns to the case after a novelist publishes the book I Am the Murderer, claiming responsibility for the crimes.[2][3]

The film is Jung's first mainstream feature; he first drew notice for his 2008 documentary film about Korean stunt men, Action Boys.[4] Produced by Dasepo Club co. Ltd, and distributed by Showbox, it was released on November 8, 2012, and ran for 119 minutes.

Plot

Choi Hyeong-goo (Jung Jae-young) is a detective who was in charge of hunting down a serial killer who claimed the lives of 10 women from 1986 to 1990, and whom Choi suspects is responsible for the kidnapping and possible murder of another. He managed to hunt down the killer, but lost him after a fierce fight that left Choi nearly dead and permanently scarred. Before the killer vanished however, Choi managed to shoot him in the shoulder.

The film begins in 2005, on the day the 15-year statute of limitations[5] expired, thus rendering prosecution impossible. Choi is now an alcoholic, haunted by his failure to solve the case. He suddenly receives a worrying call from Jung Hyun-sik (Ryoo Je-seung) a family member of one of the victims. Choi rushes to his apartment, only to see Jung throw himself off a roof and land through the windshield of a passing bus.

Two years later, Choi is alerted to the news that a man called Lee Doo-seok (Park Si-hoo) has released a book titled I Am the Murderer, claiming responsibility for the murders that took place 17 years ago. His book contains detailed descriptions of the murders, and he even displays a wound in his shoulder where he says Choi shot him, with the bullet still lodged there. His book becomes a bestseller because of the author’s charming looks and his claims of repentance for his crimes. He stages public visits to the homes of family members to beg for forgiveness, and even visits Choi at his precinct. Choi himself however, insists that Lee is in fact an imposter.

As the media frenzy surrounding Lee increases, some family members of the victims gather together to plot their revenge. They are led by Han Ji-soo (Kim Young-ae), whose daughter Kang Soo-yeon was the still-missing 11th victim. Snakes are released into Lee's hotel swimming pool during his daily swim, resulting in him getting bitten. The family members then pose as a paramedic unit sent to take Lee to the hospital. They are discovered and pursued by members of Lee's security unit as well as Choi, but manage to get away with an unconscious Lee after a lengthy and dangerous car chase.

Choi recognizes who the kidnappers are, but refuses to reveal his suspicions. Instead he goes out of his way to track down where Lee is being held, and stages a daring rescue, much to the consternation of the family members. He leaves Lee in a motel room with a note telling him to not make a fuss about the incident if he valued his life. Lee for his part tells the media that the kidnappers were a group of overzealous fans and that he will not press charges.

A television station then invites both Choi and Lee to be on a debate show to discuss the case. A daughter of one of the victims decides to head to the station to kill Lee when he comes out of the studio. During the show, a man calling himself J calls in to speak to Lee, and reveals that he knows many personal facts about Choi. J then drops a bombshell, saying that he is in fact the real killer.[6][7][8] Choi then goes to trace the call, while Lee himself is shot when he leaves the studio, resulting in him being hospitalized again.

The phone call is traced to Choi's mother's house, where J has left a video tape containing footage of the 11th victim Soo-yeon being tied up and later killed. It is then revealed that she was also Choi's girlfriend. Upon analyzing the contents of the tape, Choi calls for a press conference to tell the public that despite all this, it cannot be determined whether Lee or J is the killer.

Lee continues to insist that he is the real killer, and another television debate is arranged between him, Choi and J to settle the matter once and for all. The debate draws thousands of protestors and fans, as well as Han Ji-soo, who carries a pen filled with snake venom, intent upon using it on the real killer.

J arrives and it immediately becomes apparent that he is in fact the killer, as he arranged for a camera crew to be led to the remains of his final victim, Soo-yeon. Confronted with this, Lee then makes his own revelation, admitting that not only is he not the killer, but that he also did not write the book. In fact, it was Choi who wrote the book in an attempt to flush out the real killer, using his own detailed knowledge of the crimes. Lee turns out to be Jung Hyun-sik, who worked together with Choi to fake his own death and who underwent plastic surgery to assume a new identity.

Although surprised at the elaborate scheme, J claims that Choi cannot do anything to him, as the statute of limitations has long expired. Choi then plays the tape of Soo-yeon, revealing that a radio broadcast in the background proves that the footage was shot almost to that exact date in 1992, and that in fact he still has 14 minutes until the statute of limitations truly expires.

J then admits that he kept Soo-yeon with him for two years, and that when he finally decided to kill her, she claimed to be carrying his child in the vain hope that he would spare her. This enrages Choi so much that he attempts to kill J, but J makes an escape, leading to another intense chase scene.

Choi finally catches up to J, and is stopped from killing him just in time. Both Lee/Jang and Han Ji-soo try to kill J as he is being led away in handcuffs, but it ends up being Choi who stabs him with the poisoned pen, thus avenging all the victims and preventing any of the family members from being convicted of the crime.

The film ends five years later in 2012, when Choi is released from jail to be greeted by the media and the grateful group of victim's family members. It is also mentioned that because of this case, the statute of limitations was extended to 25 years.

Cast

  • Jung Jae-young as Choi Hyeong-goo, a police detective
  • Park Si-hoo as Lee Doo-seok[9][10]
  • Jeong Hae-gyoon as J
  • Kim Young-ae as Han Ji-soo, the victim's mother
  • Choi Won-young as Jeong Tae-seok, the victim's brother
  • Jo Eun-ji as Choi Kang-sook
  • Min Ji-ah as Kang Soo-yeon, Hyeong-goo's ex-girlfriend
  • Jang Gwang as a chief producer in the TV broadcasting company
  • Lee Jae-goo as Director Park as a TV program director
  • Kim Min-sang as Jeong Min-kwon
  • Ryoo Je-seung as Jung Hyun-sik

Reception

The film received positive review ratings on local Internet portals, and sold 1.2 million tickets in its first week of release.[11] Despite being rated 18, it sold two million tickets by its 18th day of release. It was scheduled to be released in Japan in 2013.[12]

The film ranked second and grossed ₩5,458,263,251 in its first week of release,[13] and grossed a total of ₩19,955,985,636 domestically after six weeks of screening.[14]

Remakes

The film was remade in 2017 as Memoirs of a Murderer by Yu Irie, starring Hideaki Itō and Tatsuya Fujiwara in the lead roles.[15][16][17][18]

The film was remade as a South Indian Malayalam film Angels directed by Jean Markose starring Indrajith. It was a moderate success and hit.

Awards and nominations

2013 Baeksang Arts Awards

2013 Grand Bell Awards

2013 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival

  • Thriller Competition Winner [20]

2014 Golden Cinema Festival

  • Silver Medal for Cinematography – Kim Ki-tae

References

  1. ^ "Box office by Country: Confession of Murder". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  2. ^ Lee, Hye-ji (26 September 2012). "Park Si-hoo's New Movie Opening in November". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. ^ Brown, Todd (2 October 2012). "Celebrity Is A Crime In Korean Thriller CONFESSION OF MURDER". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. ^ Paquet, Darcy (16 November 2012). "Box office, November 1–14". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  5. ^ Park, Eun-jee (2 November 2012). "Three films zero in on the limitations of legal system". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. ^ "Confession of Murder (2012)". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ^ "Confession of Murder". The Chosun Ilbo. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. ^ "Box office". The Korea Herald. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  9. ^ Lee, Dong-hyun (7 February 2012). "Park Si Hoo Films His Upcoming Movie with His Fans". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2012-11-28.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Ho, Stewart (26 October 2012). "Park Si Hoo Shows Off His Body in a Speedo". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2012-11-28.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Paquet, Darcy (30 November 2012). "Box office, November 15–28". Korea Cinema Today. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  12. ^ Lee, Eun-sun (10 December 2012). "Korea Thriller to Captivate Japanese Audiences: CONFESSION OF MURDER Will be Released in Japan in 2013". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  13. ^ "South Korea Box Office: November 9–11, 2012". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  14. ^ "South Korea Box Office: December 14–16, 2012". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  15. ^ http://eiga.com/news/20160714/1/
  16. ^ http://getnews.jp/archives/1490936
  17. ^ https://variety.com/2016/film/asia/confession-of-murder-japanese-remake-1201814175/
  18. ^ http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&seq=3945&mode=VIEW
  19. ^ Ji, Yong-jin (13 May 2013). "RYU Seung-ryong Wins Grand Prize at Baeksang Arts Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  20. ^ "BIFFF 2013 - 31st Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival". Retrieved 2017-04-07.
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