The Case of Itaewon Homicide – Review

The Case of Itaewon Homicide follows the actual real life case of an unsolved murder in Seoul’s Itaewon district in 1997. Arthur Patterson and Edward Lee who were accused of the random killing ended up being released for lack of evidence. This film is particularly interesting because the film plays out largely in English, with the suspects in question being an American-Korean. This is actually a big weakness of the film because I felt that it should have put more focus on the U.S. influence in the case and the role of the victim’s family.

I think Jang Geun Suk did a really good job practing his lines. I think despite the fact that his English wasn’t perfect, he did a really good job acting with his English. What happens a lot when Koreans speak in English in their roles their way of talking gets really forced and unnaturally syllabic. Acting aside, after watching the whole movie will full concentration, I have a bit of regret because at the end I don’t felt that there is an ending in this movie. It felt very similar to Zodiac, where a movie is made about a crime case that lacks a proper conclusion leaving the viewer hanging in the balance.

At first i wanted to watch it because of the actor, but i changed my opinion as soon as the film started. This movie manages to captivate you with its twisted plot. One of the suspects was declared not guilty by the court in 1998 for lack of evidence, and the other suspect left the country a year later. The investigation will officially close in April 2012 when the statute of limitation expires. If you dig into the actual case online and read up on it, it is actually very interesting and the film does a great job filling you in on the details.

Fans of true crime stories will definitely not want to miss this. For those that don’t know the two teens that murdered the Korean boy Cho Chong-pil in the restroom of the old Itaewon Burger King did so because they thought it would be fun. It is a great movie that is making waves in political drama in real life. The case has played a role in fueling a stereotype harbored by some Koreans that Americans related to the USFK are not duly punished for crimes they commit on Korean territory. So basically due to Korean incompetence two murderers are now running free in America. If you would like to know the story behind that statement I’d say track down this film and prepare to be captivated.