Although it would go down as David Fincher‘s lowest-grossing film, Zodiac remains his masterpiece: a sprawling, tremendously detailed look at obsession and process. Considering Hollywood rarely produces 2.5-hour, adult-targeted crime dramas with endings that won’t perhaps please the popcorn-munching film-going sect, when questioned with recommendations for similar films, there are only a few to be had.
A prime example came four years prior to the release of Zodiac with Bong Joon-ho‘s Memories of Murder. While Fincher has never publicity acknowledged a connection, the same can’t be said for the South Korean director, who included Zodiac on his favorite films of all-time list. Today brings an excellent video essay that looks at both their on-the-surface similarities and the differences in perspective and perception.
Created by Channel Criswell, Memories of a Zodiac Killer is a 14-minute analysis that goes beyond the basic plot similarities of both films. The video explores how the passage of time is expressed in each film through formal touches and how each director reveals the killers’ perspective differently; with Zodiac, we only see what the detectives uncover, while Memories lets us into his motivations.
Also including references to The Maltese Falcon, Run Lola Run, Rashomon, and more, this is a fascinating watch and one can check it out below:
Are you aware of all their connections? Which film do you prefer?