Watch: Video Essay Studies Perspectives & Perceptions Of David Fincher's 'Zodiac' & Bong Joon-Ho's 'Memories Of Murder'

The comparison has been made, many times in fact, between Bong Joon-Ho’s “Memories of Murder” and David Fincher’s “Zodiac.” If you had to pigenonhole either film into a genre, they’re both essentially serial killer whodunits, each imprinted with the signature stamp of their respective maker. Both films are inspired by real-life events (to varying degrees) and both are also concerned with the high cost of obsession and how a series of grisly, violent crimes send waves of paranoia and panic throughout cloistered communities. Other than that, though — and this is just this writer’s opinion — the films are as different as night and day. Bong Joon-Ho, as always, brings a pointed sense of socio-political commentary to his film (not to mention his characteristically perverse sense of humor) while Fincher’s picture is a more solemn, languorous affair. The director is concerned, as always, with procedure above all else and microscopic detail, and the resulting picture is painted in alluring,...