There are few instances in which films based on true events strongly follow their original tales; often enough, such instances are only loosely following the truth, using inspiration and only minor events.
Memories of Murder doesn't appear to be that at all, it's a film that shows the heartbreaking loss of life and the struggles of those who, for many years, tried their very best to catch the person responsible. This is South Korea's way of using film to tell the world of its wounds that cannot heal, and will never understand why those wounds occurred in the first place. It's forever haunted by an unsolved series of murders.
The events in the film follow the Hwaseong serial murders from September 15, 1986 and April 3, 1991. The victims, all female and of varying ages, were found to have been murdered all in the same way. A total of 21,280 suspects and no sustainable evidence has caused the investigation to remain unsolved to this day. This is South Korea's Zodiac Killer.
Memories of Murder shows the viewer the struggles of the police, who are growing increasingly attached to the investigation; their time and health becoming affected as it begins to affect them on an emotional level. They want nothing more than to capture the killer and ensure the killer gets the punishment they deserve. The police are thrown in circles, however. Evidence is there, but it just isn't enough to really find the person responsible.
The biggest touch to the film is by far its ending (don't worry, it's hardly a spoiler given the murders are still unsolved). Our protagonist police officer is walking home from his new job, it's a different career path that he chose after the events of the investigation, he is walking by the location of the first murder; he stops in his steps, looks at the very location in which the victim was found. A young schoolgirl asks him what he is doing, and claims another man once did the same thing he did, although when she asked him, he claimed he was just revisiting the location after doing something there long ago. It's the lead he always needed, but it is too late. The girl says the guy was, well, ordinary. Just like him.
The final shot shows our protagonist look deep into the camera, his eyes tearing up with the heartbreak of South Korea. He isn't just looking into the camera, but looking at the viewers. One of which may very well be that killer. It's a tragically deep ending that breaks the fourth wall. The killer is still out there. Possibly watching.
