Random Thoughts on Memoirs of a Murderer (2017)
Memoirs of a Murderer (2017) 22年目の告白 ―私が殺人犯です―
Dir. Yu Irie
Of the films I have watched in recent months, Memoirs of a Murderer was the most mind-blowing and even made me have an impulse to write an essay on it. Seeing Tatsuya Fujiwara on screen again filled me with nostalgia. Back in the day, I had a crush on him and Kenichi Matsuyama.
Based on a 2012 South Korean film Confession of Murder, the Japanese production is a meditation on the media, law and truth. In terms of mise en scène, lighting is a vital cinematic technique in foreshadowing the plot twist and revealing the theme of the film. The spotlight in particular is a telling visual motif. Personally, I prefer the Japanese adaptation to the Korean original, whose idea is undoubtedly innovative nevertheless. The former is action-based, sensually stimulating and comical while the latter sheds light on humanity. Coincidentally, the three films that came out at the same time – The Third Murder, Murder on the Orient Express and Memoirs of a Murderer all centre on murder, law and truth. Here comes the question I always ask: what is truth in this post-truth era?