There is still room to surprise the viewer, beat them and take them where they least expect them. This is demonstrated by the screenwriter and director Michel Franco (New order) in his new film: Memory.
In it, he explores a lot of uncomfortable questions while raising how two people devastated by personal misfortunes can get a second chance by relying on each other.
The film in itself is a small feat, a Mexican-American co-production in which the two main protagonists shine with their own light: Jessica Chastain (perfect lives) and Peter Sarsgaard (Presumed innocent), winner of the Volpi Cup for his performance.
The story and the excellent rapport between the two performers are the main strengths of the film. Sparks fly every time they are together and exhibit a level of intimacy that is astonishing and will resonate with the audience..
Franco seeks to move but without attacking the viewer’s sensitive vein. That is, he does not force tears nor dwell on gruesome details, he simply lets the dialogues flow. They are so forceful that there is no possible escape from a reaction: they hit you and shake you.
The tortuous past and imminent oblivion
Memory introduces us to Sylvia, a committed social worker who is very concerned about her only daughter. Her relationship with the rest of her family is very strained: she doesn’t talk to her mother and her sister is a somewhat unstable support.
She has managed to leave her alcohol addiction behind by punctually attending her Alcoholics Anonymous sessions and following very structured life guidelines, but she suffers occasional lows in mood that knock her out when she remembers her past.
Everything blows up when he goes to a reunion party at his old high school. Unable to let go, she falls behind and a man notices her. Overwhelmed, she leaves the premises, but he follows her to the door of her house.
After spending the night awake, he will discover that Saul has spent the night on the street and will prepare to notify a family member to pick him up. Thus he will discover that he suffers from early dementia and sometimes becomes disoriented, as is the case.
Sylvia thinks she remembers him and blames him for some of the most tortuous passages of her adolescence. Saul doesn’t remember anything: he has lost his short-term memory and is becoming more and more dependent. What he cannot forget is how Sylvia’s company makes him feel.
Michel Franco writes an incisive script in which the characters do not mince words. The two protagonists live in antagonistic situations: Sylvia is in a loop that leads her to self-destruction for not being able to finish processing the past, while Saul clings to him to try not to lose her identity and the little independence she has left. .
A Contracorriente Films
To a large extent Memory It is a treatise on memory: how it can be dead weight or an essential link with reality. But it is also and above that a love story different from the many that we have seen on screen in recent times. The emotional bond, tenderness and attraction between Sylvia and Saul is truly moving.
It’s also nice to see how an actress like Jessica Chastain can go from an absolute diva role to one that is much more mundane and simple. That’s what makes her career as a performer great.
In short, they are two gravitational poles that rotate around each other, as if it were a perfect binary system.
It goes without saying that Memory It also delves into the field of mental illnesses and the way in which we socially treat them (it gives the impression that sex became something dirty in the eyes of others and that sufferers were destined to eliminate romantic relationships from their lives).
It also focuses on the traumatic experiences of childhood and youth that can permeate the rest of the lives of people who have suffered abuse. The treatment they receive is not very different from that described above: they remain marked and are treated by certain groups as “broken beings.”
But Memory restores the dignity of both extremes by bringing them together and letting them fly. This is what makes it a movie that goes beyond romance to become a firm plea for individual freedom.
