FILM REVIEW: Memory2 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Trish, an introverted girl, meets up with her long lost childhood friend; then starts a series of miscommunication and disappointments before she finds out what she was really missing.
Director: Jovanni Tinapay
Year: 2015
Cast: Lyka Ruela, Micheal Polinar
Language: Tagalog
Runtime: 8min
Review by Jean Wong
Dreams do not always come true, and Memory (2015) treads the line between fantasy and reality as the protagonist grapples with this fact. As an introvert, Trish (Lyka Ruela) spends a lot of time in her head which lends the film a sense of surrealism with a heavy focus on her own mental reflections than the environment around her.
As Trish meets her childhood friend again for the first time in years, her feelings are put on display for us through occasional narrations of her thoughts. Though things seem casual, if not a little awkward, the atmosphere loses its lightheartedness as Erik (Micheal Polinar), Trish’s childhood friend, brings up the elephant in the room. Watching Memory evoked a bittersweet feeling for me as it would anyone who understands the loss of a friend, be it by choice or by circumstance.
The charming art and graceful instrumental music used compliments the film and makes it a more immersive experience as we follow Trish through the highs and lows of meeting her childhood friend again. Having haboured this unresolved history for a long time, Trish finally steels herself to let go and seek closure with Erik’s reappearance. The flow of Trish’s contemplations on the idea of sleeping, lucid dreaming, and waking up seems to hint at precisely this, as she stops waiting for a dream that will never happen.
Memory gently but firmly asserts the impracticality of hoping for things to go according to our expectations, and, at the same time, reassures us that this is not the end of the world. Though not all friendships may pan out the way we want them to, life is bigger than that. Perhaps all we need is a change in perspective.
Click here to watch Memory (2015).
