“Why bother trying when our destiny is already determined?” I asked in a casual discussion with a relative who is also a spiritual “expert”. He replied, “Time in God’s eyes is not linear. The concept of past, present, tomorrow, all of them are irrelevant. What we consider the future, in His eyes is the present”.
Memoria is not about destiny or God. But Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s latest work, which will represent Colombia at the 2022 Academy Awards, reconstructs our perception of time. About how humans as part of the universe, unite with it so as to create a collective experience that transcends logical boundaries. Best Movie Site
In the early minutes, I complained, “Wow, Apichatpong is tempted by the establishment”. The film is still slow, still quiet, still dominated by still shots that would be mistaken for a freeze frame by ordinary viewers, but everything looks more “expensive”. Thailand’s forest and/or village setting moves to modern urban areas in Bogota. Unknown actor’s amateur acting was replaced by Tilda Swinton’s starring. The naturalistic impression full of mysticism seems to have disappeared.
But as we follow Jessica’s (Tilda Swinton) attempt to solve the mysterious events she experienced, then the purpose of the choices above will appear. One night, Jessica was startled by a bang. Others don’t hear it. Is there a certain phenomenon, or is Jessica’s head disturbed?
On the recommendation of a friend, Jessica visits Hernan (Juan Pablo Urrego), a sound mixer, to reveal the identity of the boom she heard. There the function of the presence of Swinton (read: professional actress) is answered. Apichatpong places the camera behind the two players. We only see Jessica’s back, while Hernan plays one sound sample after another. When she arrived at the voice in question, Jessica’s body trembled slightly. Surprised, shocked. Movie Review
Swinton shows a subtle form of acting, which can only be shown if the soul and body of the actor, merge with the figure of the role. I was touched by it. Towards the end, Apichatpong did the opposite. The camera is positioned in front, glaring directly at Swinton’s teary face. The results are just as strong. Swinton merged with Jessica, Jessica merged with the universe.
Memoria did talk about smelting. The modern impression that I mentioned above also cannot be separated from this fusion. When man fuses with the universe, he transcends the boundaries of space, time, and also the individual. The barrier between things that contradict each other disappears. Nature with technology, tradition with modernization, as well as science with belief/spiritual, which underlies the narrative’s brief and strange “visit” to the realm of sci-fi in the final chapter. All together, so that a beautiful harmony is born like the unification of various instruments in a musical group.
Memoria is an event that must be experienced directly. Any kind of review will not be able to fully describe it. It’s a little different (the amount of dialogue and the occasional commotion of the city, making it feel the most “friendly” compared to the director’s other works since The Adventure of Iron Pussy), but like Apichatpong’s usual work, this film is a magical presentation, which will make viewers wonder, ” Is something happening? Is the universe talking?”, every wind suddenly blows. There is no spiritual experience as strong as Memoria this time of year. Top Movie