Film Club Review
Every Monday, 12 young film lovers head to our cinema under the stars at Lotterywest Films to take in the best international cinema has to offer. As aspiring cinephiles, we've asked them for their thoughts on the films screening for you as part of Lotterywest Films program.
Read William Huang's review of this week's film Memoria.
A rare and beautiful film
Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul has left nothing to chance.
There is a silvery thread of tension running through Memoria, that criss crosses through uneasy, vulnerable and unsettling territory with the slow, controlled movement of a snake.
It passes through themes of solitude and shared understanding as well as death and fragility, carefully striking you again and again, each time just as jarringly as the last.
Jessica (Tilda Swinton) is a botanist living in Columbia who hears a metallic thud that alienates her physically and emotionally from other people. The cause and meaning of this sound forms a search to find out where it comes from, which takes a heavy psychological toll.
Each camera shot is measured with almost scientific precision. Glass and openings feature prominently, with characters framed to be uncomfortable (in one scene, Jessica’s throat is covering a doorknob).
Visually, this film is stunning, and the performances of Tilda Swinton and Elkin Díaz (Hernán Bedoya) are masterfully expressive.
The pacing between and within scenes is varied, but often glacial. Although some people will surely find this movie fascinating, this could put off people looking for a faster story: maybe one where the experiences of the characters can be solved, or at least explained.
If you want to see something rare and beautiful, I would recommend this movie.
I walked in and out of the theatre feeling the same, disquieted. Memoria has the impression of being utterly unique.