Memoria (2021)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Memoria (2021) – A. Weerasethakul

This is only the second film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul that I’ve seen, even though the Thai director has been making features since 2000.  The other was Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) which won the Palm D’Or at Cannes that year.  It should have prepared me for the slow meditative pace of his new film, Memoria (which won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2021), but somehow the presence of Tilda Swinton and the suggestion that this would be science fiction lured me into expecting something different. However, the opening scene, which takes place at night in the near dark and shows only Jessica (Swinton) hearing a loud earthy metallic sound and waking up somewhat dazed to slowly look around, quickly reset my expectations. Once I got myself in tune with the film’s thoughtful pace, I was mesmerized by its mystery. What was the sound? Why can only Jessica hear it? She begins an investigation, first consulting a sound engineer who manipulates an effects library to try to reproduce the exact sound. This is Weerasethakul’s first film outside of Thailand – it takes place in Colombia and Jessica soon drifts from the city into the countryside where she meets a fisherman who declares that he is a hard drive who stores all memories and she is an antenna who can read them. They experience a connection. The film does not attempt to provide answers to its mysteries but instead shows us a series of incidents and encounters, primarily ambiguous, that allow viewers to reflect, think, and expand their consciousness. I was reminded of the art of Jeff Wall while the camera paused for lengthy amounts of time on clearly staged shots. What motivated the artistic choices? Colour and composition are a highlight here and, given the plot, sound design as well.  This must have been wondrous on the big screen.