Memento.
Edward, Matt, and I went to see Memento last night at the new Milpitas Super Saver (YES! 2.50 movies!! woot!). It was definitely the best 2.50 I’ve spent in quite a while. The unusual story is told in such an incredibly original — and very appropriate — manner. The story opens with a brutal killing and works backward from there. It’s revealed that the protagonist has lost his short term memory after his wife’s brutal murder and that he is out to avenge the killer. Because he has no short term memory, he relies on a system of notes, body tattoos, and taking polaroid pictures to keep himself together. The movie is made as a series of scenes in a story, only they are told in reverse, with the beginning of one scene as the end of the next scene. You get the same sense of confusion and creating a new memory with each scene, even though it’s directly related to the “memory” before.
Memento is not only a creative and affecting effort, it also presents some interesting ideas about the roles of time and memory in our lives, both as ways of creating meaning in our lives, establishing identity, and molding the realities in which we live. Memory can be manipulated to suit how we think — we can forget some of the less pleasant things in the people we like, make a conscious effort in people we don’t like. We do these things so we can live our lives better. But what if we didn’t have a choice? What if you were a clean slate each time? What if that protective mechanism never switched “on”? And if each day is new, how do you feel that anything has changed if you can’t remember anything happening? And what gives your life meaning, if you can’t remember anything that gives it meaning, or create new ideas to reflect your experiences?
Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes fame… man, that was a good comic strip!!) once observed that “Day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon, everything is different.”
Maybe we take for granted that each day, each moment is important, and each new memory is something special, as each is built upon by the next, shaping who we are, and shaping our futures. This is our time…
Hehe. Memento is definitely a movie I want to get on dvd eventually. Worth watching again, that’s for sure.