Memento Mori

Title: Memento Mori
Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Romantic, Drama, Horror
Starring: Min-Sun Kim, Young-Jin Lee, Yeh-Jin Park
Director: Tae-Yong Kim, Kyu-Dong Min
Language: Korean

“Remember the dead”

Initially drawn in less by the plot premise and more the fusion of styles, leaving me wondering how something can be both a horror and romantic simultaneously; the end result is not one without its issues, not least in the form of being mind-bogglingly confusing. Not in the sense of Lynch where everything has some form of obscure purpose, drawing you in to try and make sense of it, but rather more in a ‘sixth sense’ manner where multiple viewings are required as many of the seemingly irrelevant events become relevant with the pertinent information, only given later in the film. In fact, on subsequent viewings many aspects become more readily deciphered (I will be adding helpful hints at the end of this review, hopefully not revealing too much in the way of spoilers), and despite this convolution a twisted story of romance does indeed present itself.

Set against the backdrop of a South Korean school, unfurling through the eyes of Min-ah, things start when she discovers the diary of two fellow students, Hyo-Shin and Shi-eun. Recently coming out as secret lovers they are ridiculed by their fellow students until Hyo-Shin is discovered dead, having jumped from the roof of their school building, Shi-eun spotted with her shortly before the incident. Entranced by diary of the deceased she finds herself incapable of reading on, learning of the events that led up to her death, all the while the spirit of Hyo-Shin watches on over those who still live.

Whilst that constitutes the bare essence of the plot, there are so many small features from the reasons for her death, the emotional mindset of Shi-eun, the taboo nature of bi-sexual relationships, the unrequited love sub-plot that emerges and the depressed nature of the teacher Mr. Goh, there is so much here and it is so poorly explained in the 100min run time that it could easily have run into double that (and indeed, there apparently is a version out there at over three hours which – unfortunately – doesn’t exist with subtitles). Instead, the end result, whilst with plenty of intricacies that sustains it for multiple viewings is likely to be so confusing that after the first,many may be apprehensive to subject themselves to it a second time.

The subtle acting too did little to help matters, as great importance is held to the words that are being spoken over the physicality of the characters and many subtle but important sections of dialogue are all too readily lost in the often fast-paced speech. Only the character of Shi-eun (Lee-Young Jin) stood out as performing particularly well, mostly in the final scenes, though none of the relatively young cast could be said to have been less than mediocre. Where they perhaps lacked in displaying individual emotions, distinct through their physicality over dialogue utilised, the large backing cast excelled in the larger classroom scenes, lending a sense of realism as they joke and ridicule one another, the linear first 30 mins deceptively simple to understand but filled with subtle hints that require more attention than would normally be devoted. The soundtrack was well utilised, only a few passages really using it, resulting in the scene being given specific emphasis in contrast to the others.

I would be apprehensive to approaching this as a horror film, for despite its dark nature and ghost integral to the plot, the underlying emotion intended is not that of fear but rather love; we are intended to feel sorrow for the tragic loss of life from both sides of the relationship. This is a Korean film that has developed a cult following and it’s not difficult to see why; it’s unique in its style, rare in its taboo themes and filled with fleshed out characters, sub-plots, clues and hints, that are integral in making a film of the highest calibre. It’s simply the erratic non-linear story line, the poorly displayed flashbacks and altogether confusing nature that presents such a monumental issue. This is a film that if you survive the first viewing, will only enjoy more and more in subsequent viewings.

First Viewing, 2.5/5. Once you figure out what the hell is happening, 4.5/5.

P.S. If Korean girl’s diaries are as detailed as that, they clearly aren’t being set enough homework.

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Helpful hints:

1) Despite there being a large cast, there are only four characters of real importance to take note of; the girl running in the opening sequence (Shi-eun), the girl who dies (Hyo-Shin), the girl who discovers the diary (Min-ah) and the male teacher (Mr. Goh). Aside from these four, there are other minor characters with sub-plots that aren’t integral to the main story.
2) Ghosts are frequently portrayed as more corporeal entities in Asian cinema. The same is true here, and it should be fairly apparent whether it’s her ghost (disappearing from other camera angles, rapidly appearing then vanishing again). If you can see her face for more than a single shot, it’s a flashback.
3) Hyo-Shin’s spirit is acting through the diary and anyone who reads it (read: Min-ah. Telepathy).
4) The pills aren’t really poison; it’s symbolic of their love for one another. Not to say every character believes that…