User Reviews

This felt like reading a really long winded poem and having absolutely no idea what you just read.

This was slowwwwww. I did really enjoy the sound design, the mystery, and how this pulled me in forcing me to practice patience but it's essentially just Tilda Swinton trying to find the perfect kick drum for two hours.

*Watched at Cannes 2021 World Premiere*

The work of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (try saying that five times fast) have never fully been able to register with audiences outside of the festival circuit. He has amassed universal critical acclaim since he graced the Cannes Riviera in 2004 with "Tropical Malady." He creates gaps between his feature films by creating several short films, some of which eventually are spawned into feature-length, such as the 2009 short "A Letter to Uncle Boonmee" becoming the 2010 Palme d'Or winning "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives." Now in 2021, Weerasethakul is stepping outside of his native Thailand for "Memoria," (translated from the Latin word "memory") which prompted another return to Cannes, this time netting him the Jury Prize.

The first English-language film for Weerasethakul, "Memoria'' is set within Colombia, following Tilda Swinton from destination to destination. The film opens with a surprising jumpscare illustrating our main character's problem, which is that she often hears a loud crashing noise that seems to be confined entirely within her head. This noise confounds her, leading to an investigation into what exactly it is and why it is happening, which puts her in contact with a sound engineering student, a morgue doctor, and a strange fisherman offering profound insights on memory and identity.

Those familiar with the work of Weerasethakul will know that the plot is not the driving force behind the ultimate narrative. Instead, the visuals and sound work do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Within "Memoria," dialogue is seldom found for long stretches at a time, leaving the viewer to look at the screen like one would look at a painting, soaking in as much information as possible. This restriction of information will irritate those looking for answers to the questions the film raises, which Weerasethakul doesn't have any intention of addressing. The Cannes World Premiere garnered nearly fifty walkouts from disgruntled viewers, and several nodding heads from the slow pacing that were often reawakened by the mysterious crashing noise, which shook the theatre.

Swinton acts less like a character and more like a wandering observer. Never shot in closeup and always present of the world around her, she moves from place to place, learning new information about her condition, all without much dialogue from her end. The first half of the film is where Swinton does most of her traveling, which keeps the film moving at a steady, yet still slow, pace. Much of the "action" within these journeys would be considered filler in most mainstream projects, such as Swinton waiting patiently for the sound engineer to finish his work before addressing her, or an unbroken take consisting solely of car alarms going off.

The last hour of the film is where some will applaud and others will boo (just as they did at the world premiere). Swinton's final journey takes her to a remote village housing a fisherman who claims to remember everything about his life. The two of them engage in an extended conversation that explores the strange connection they share. To an extent, the conversation acts as a vessel for Weerasethakul to talk to his audience about his ideas about cinema and life. It's a bold move by a director not known for boldness, and is one that teeters reshapes the way you look at the world at its best and teeters on self-aggrandizing at its worst. Weerasethakul ties his thesis up in a perfect bow with an ultimate answer that is fittingly incomprehensible and produces several more questions.

"Memoria" is a work for the cinephiles that need an escape from the noise of the modern world. It's wildly beautiful and imaginative, all while challenging your patience and viewpoints. Go in with an open mind, and you find yourself enlightened.

In "Memoria" Tilda Swinton plays Jessica Holland, an expat woman from Scotland who lives in Medellín and is in the market-gardening business. One night, Jessica is awoken from a sleep by a strange bang, like a sonic boom. This is the long version of the movie. The short version is "what did I just watch?" If they had made a short movie (35 minutes), you would still ask the same question. This is by far the slowest movie I have ever seen and then having to admit I still did not understand the plot? Or was there no plot? Was there even a movie? So many questions that might never be answered. This movie left me behind feeling very frustrated. It might have been a masterpiece or just the opposite. But if I have to stare at trees, roads, the sky etc for at least 75% of the movie, I fall asleep. There is one thing that is very good about this movie, and that is the always wonderful acting Tilda. Without her, this movie would not even exist. This is the trick, use Tilda and some people might actually come and see the movie of my twisted "Memoria". And the only good scene was when Jessica was visiting the doctor. She was trying to ask Xanax but had to struggle to get a prescription because Xanax is addictive! And this is happening in Medellin, once the cocaine capital of the world...

A woman hears noises. The audience will hear the noises, too. The woman jumps when she hears the noises. So too might the audience. She wants to find out what the noises are. We're along for the ride, trying to understand her journey as best we can...

Memoria is a film that's very, very different. Mostly, it's unique in a good way, but it is a challenging watch and if you're like me, you might come out of it not knowing exactly what you just saw... but hopefully, you'll appreciate how it made you feel.

I read this was only ever going to be shown theatrically, and that it would never get a streaming release or be released on DVD/Bluray. I thought that sounded pretentious, but now after seeing the film, if they stick with that plan, I understand why. Memoria is a quiet and sometimes deathly still film. I don't know if most people (myself included) would be able to concentrate on it completely if they were at home, and had mobile phones and the like as distractions.

This becomes clearest in the second half, which warps and seemingly deconstructs time itself as you're watching it. I know how pretentious that sounds. But approximately the last half is one long sequence that is slow in a way that's kind of awe-inspiring. And I can only estimate that this concluding chunk of the film was one half of it. It may have been more like 70 minutes. It could've been as short as half an hour.

With no clear narrative or structure, you're left no choice but focus intently in on what is (or isn't?) happening. It ends up being hypnotic. Some people were audibly relieved when it was over. I'd be lying if I said I was riveted the whole time, but I was too impressed with how Memoria as a whole felt to watch unfold to say it came anywhere close to being a waste of time.

Tilda Swindon deserves praise, too. I think the film asks a lot of her, and asks her to do it all subtly, too. She gives a great performance, and one that I don't think many others could do. Overall, this is a very slow and perplexing film, but I can't call it boring, and because of the unique experience it provided, I wouldn't call it frustrating or pretentious, either. It's absolutely worth 137 minutes of your attention, as long as you're mostly onboard with seeing something out there, and one that seeks to give you a unique film-watching experience more than it gives you a traditional narrative, or any easy answers.

So, this film is artistic AF. It has all of what most people who enjoy film dont like ( including myself) but it is an spiritual retreat. So i would suggest that you get a nice wine, sit comfortable in front of a big screen with good sound and enjoy a very slow visual artistic film. That in general. I also recommend to watch it alone, i think it is a very private film, and you will enjoy better when you can fully inmerse.

The director challenges the viewer the whole first part of the film, but preparing you for the next. Needs to bring you heart rate very low, and you will feel how time stops at some point. You will forget about outside world in the second part. Its not a film to entertaind, its more like a trip to the jungle , find a shaman, try ayahuasca and come back to normal life. Seems surreal, makes you wonder... Personally i was not prepared properly to watch this film, but i enjoyed it because i am also a photographer so i was enjoying every static frame. There is craft on this film, technically stunning.

This movie is very hard to watch and requires much patience. If you can connect with the movie, it will make it easier to watch. There are very long and still sequences. From the beginning to the end of the film, confusion prevails. We cant really understand what is happening. Nothing is clear. And the movie does not give us many answers. This is a "feel" movie. If you cant connect with the characters or the storyline it will be a disappointing experience for you.

This movie is only for the eyes of a few people. To those eyes, it offers many answers, inspiration, and a lot of insight - to the latter it will look like total rubbish. I understand and respect this. However, this movie was fascinating for me. It requires a great amount of patience and total attention - and a base knowledge of buddhism helps a lot with many symbols scattered around the movie. It is something that needs you to focus with an open mind - because it has nothing to do with a story, a plot, it rather gives you the chance to observe a very subtle reality often ignored. Not with a storyline, but a chain of circumstances which may look meaningless or unimportant if you don't look close enough. Sounds were used brilliantly, and the whole movie made me feel there was nothing decorative, all scenes, and little things, and pauses were there only because they were absolutely necessary to deliver the message. It was more like a meditation. This one provided me so many unexpected answers and spiritual inspiration, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about it and 'feeling' it for a while.

This is going to be very difficult for some to watch. Tilda is fantastic, the way she connected with the story telling for the concept of memories, is what helps this movie. Good visuals, eerie atmosphere, sometimes you get lost a bit, but then you find what is all going. This movie is released for those who need to actually watch these types of cinema, not for the average movie fan.

To me this is the main issue with Memoria. For example, the IMDB question about spoilers is not even needed, there can be basically no spoilers when reviewing this film, since the "narrative" (can't really call it that) is fragmented and merely the pretext for the reflections the movie undertakes on several clever memory-related topics (notably the reality of recollection), from the simple perspective of the experiences concerning a single human individual, to the collective thoughts of a society as a whole. In that vein the characters and some movie conventions (the classical journey of the main character, although we are never sure what it exactly is) are used as a sort of vessels.

As long as that is accepted I found that most of my criticism (which would put me firmly on the side of "bad" reviewers) fell off the wayside, and I enjoyed this beautifully shot contemplative piece for what it was.

But why didn't I rate it higher? Frankly because I was underwhelmed with the meditation itself or the tropes enveloping it (as I saw them), finding some of them trite and even ridiculous. Meditation around different issues comes also from some sort of familiarity, and I was not convinced that the filmmaker was not merely a tourist in this universe, rather than someone with a particularly deep insight.

This sort of approach is, of course, totally acceptable, just not something I could relate to here, as I could in other films he has done. And thus issues such the length of the film (as well as some of the sequences) became a problem, which would not have been the case had I felt fully in sync with the piece.

This film is certainly a slow burn, but it rewards patience with beautifully mysterious scenes that evoke a wellspring of thoughts and feelings. The first half is an exercise in subtle surrealism; things are just slightly off. Things get more explicitly supernatural in the second half, but it never loses the sense of quiet strangeness that lurks underneath from the very first scene.

What stuck with me most was the visual and sonic beauty of the film. The landscape shots from the end of the film keep reappearing in my mind, hovering like a soft blue fog. The world seemed different when I exited the theater, more vivid and alive. And I saw myself in Jessica (Tilda Swinton), the lonely outsider who longs to understand why she hears things others can't.

I can understand why some may not have enjoyed the film. It certainly requires patience. The viewer must appreciate stillness and complex cinematographic tableaux. They should enjoy attempting to unravel a puzzling storyline that will not directly answer many of the questions that are sure to arise in their mind. It may be more enjoyable to individuals who are spiritually inclined, or who are comfortable not knowing the answers to the mysteries of the universe. But anyone who appreciates gorgeous cinematography and lush soundscapes will at least enjoy it from that perspective.

All in all, for me it is a crowning achievement, and an excellent English (and Spanish) language debut for director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, not to mention a stellar performance by Tilda Swinton. As it won't appear on DVD or streaming services, if this review speaks to you, then you must see this film in a theater while you can.

It's a slow paced movie, full of simbolism, and definitely if we are not familiar with other movies of this durector, it's hard to connect with this work.

Maybe this movie was to overhyped for me, but it probably is the biggest disappointment of 2021 for me.

The concept was ambitious, but the movie still cant decide what it wants to be and in the last 10mins it completely shifts its genre, which was just to much...

Tilda Swinton is brilliant in it, no doubt, but this plot, that gets dragged out more and more (and I usually love slow paced movies, but that was even to much for me) simply doesnt help itself. It reminded me a bit of LOST at times, where it mysteriously opens up a loooot of questions but never answers any of those.... or you could say... "it leaves it up for interpretation". A second viewing would certainly help you to understand those connections better, but I cant make myself endure this another time.

Its such a shame that this amazing idea has not been executed much more smoothly.

Yet another filmmaker whose works I've failed to explore properly, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (or "Joe") is one of the foremost contenders for the title of The Next Tarkovsky -- mainly his use of weather, environments, and languid camera work to create a pitch-perfect mood, as well as his exploration of spiritual themes through sci-fi and Fantasy (the subtle kind where eerie sounds carry greater supernatural weight than flashy Hollywood graphics). In Memoria, which doesn't quite live up to Tarkovsky proper, there is also something particularly striking about Tilda Swinton's performance and the way we constantly inhabit her lonesome headspace.

Brian Tallerico wrote of how fascinatingly "displaced" the movie feels while still managing to be engrossing (for the right people), not only due to the single-take scenes that let all the events play out naturally before us:

"Rarely does a film completely disconnect me from the many distractions going on in my life ... one that I suspect will truly resonate with those who feel similarly displaced from the world around them."

Indeed, no matter how you interpret Memoria and its seemingly ever-shifting reality, those who will truly get the most out of it are those of us who feel as if we're observing the world more so than we participate in its flow (people like Swinton's character, who are more likely to ponder the uncharted while others talk about jobs and relationships). It is a film that connects us, more so than real interactions might, saying more than words could.

"It's ummm... it's like a rumble... from the core of the Earth. And then it shrinks."

A woman from Scotland, while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice a strange sound. Soon she begins to think about its appearance and what it may be. I haven't seen any Apichatpong Weerasethakul films, but from what I've been told, you'll either embrace them or fall asleep to them. Whether I should've started with this or not was a little out of the question. It received praise at Cannes and festivals around. While at CIFF, I missed its two initial screenings and didn't mind to much. Then, it was announced that Memoria would have the release strategy of going from city to city for one week only. Once it passes through each city, it will never be shown ever again. Not in theaters, not on blu ray, not on streaming, literally never again. When it won a grand prize award at CIFF, it had one last screening for the best of the fest and I bought tickets right away. Memoria is entrancing and throughly provoking. It's hard to make out the film for a while. We don't know too much about this woman, other than this great emotion this sound brings her. Tilda Swinton is really good. Her range here isn't wide as her character of Jessica is stuck in place. We're on the same level as her the whole time. My favorite part do her performance is how she reacts to this sound. Every time she hears it, especially after the first time, there's this tenseness in her hands and she sort of jumps but not really. It's a reaction of fear, confusion, and puzzlement. Everyone can agree that she's wonderful.

I keep mentioning this sound and you're probably wondering what I mean. Describing it is hard to explain. There's a really cool scene where she and a sound designer sit and try to recreate it. It lasts around ten minutes and the different ways they render a simple bang into an almost perfect recreation of the sound is incredible. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they actually worked on it in real time. It makes you think of how you describe sounds because it's a hard thing to do. And then adding the whole appearance thing to it is even harder. The use of sound throughout the film is incredible and would well deserve a nomination or some sort of recognition, however, this is a little too inaccessible of a film. Apichatpong Weerasethakul has a distinct style in which he takes all the time he can get. The runtime is 135 minutes, and you don't feel it too much, at least for me. The opening shot/scene has us sitting in a quiet room where Tilda Swinton is sleeping. Nothing happens for a good three minutes, and then we get the jump scare of our lives with the sound. Every scene takes as much time as it needs. There's another cool scene towards the end where we're watching two people sit outside. At one point, we see this one shot of the man lying down for a good 5 minutes before anything else happens. I was a big fan of the direction and writing. Because of the unique story and how odd it is, there are moments of comedy that work incredibly well. The whole theater was laughing. Even those times where the sound comes in out of absolutely nowhere, we can have a moment to laugh and think "what is going on?!" By the end, I'm not entirely sure what happens. The explanation threw me and literally everyone completely off. There's no possible way to see it coming. I have yet to find a good explanation. I do think it works but I am definitely missing some things. In the end, I may never know and that's ok. Memoria really stuck with me and is an incredible film. I would say another watch would help and explore you to go out and see it, but that's not plausible. If you do see it, you'll have to be the right person to, otherwise I don't think you'll like it in the slightest. For what it's worth, I'm glad I had the experience and opportunity to see it.

Had to think a lot after viewing. Still don't know what to say about this film. You can feel pleasant breeze in every shot. Beautifully shot is the least I can tell about this movie. Other than that, not sure if I'm qualified to rate this film. Uncle Boonmie was pilot film for me from director Weerasethakul; it was relatively easy to follow. Can't say the same for Memoria. I believe I know the plot. Yet, I can't even tend to describe this film. Yaay! I can't spoil others even if I want to. Nothing can be extracted from my telling. Ahhh. I'm unsettled. Single viewing won't do justice. I need to re-watch this film, but, sometime in the future. Hope, I'll have some Memoria about Memoria till then.

I like slow-burning films; the idea of being given enough time to really live in the movie you are watching really appeals to me, often more so than faster-paced, spectacular projects. I also like arthouse films; the atmosphere and characters can often be just as engaging, if not more, than a traditionally linear storyline. Thing is, you need to have at least the semblance of a storyline in a film, otherwise, it's like buying a loaf of bread and finding no bread in it!

Memoria is deliberately pitched at a snail's pace. There isn't a storyline as such, but rather a series of events, some of which we return to. Clearly, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who writes and directs, has a vision for this - together, one would presume, with his cast and crew. For the most part, it leaves me cold, and I find myself trying to imagine how Weerasethakul initially tried to communicate what he is trying to achieve here to his actors. I actually felt the makers were taking the mickey, daring me to stick with this when they have no intention of providing much reason to, or indeed any kind of pay-off.

Some will undoubtedly tell me I don't 'get' it, and that's almost certainly true, but I can't honestly see that there is anything *to* get, because with the suspension of disbelief fully installed, all I see here is a group of blandly inoffensive people doing very little except having whispered conversations and being desperately polite to each other in front of an unmoving camera. There were times when I had to wait for someone to blink to convince myself the BluRay hadn't frozen. This left me cold, I'm afraid. My score is 3 out of 10 for some nicely filmed locations.

Tilda Swindon's character Jessica wakes up to a loud sharp thud, a sound that will haunt her throughout the movie and give her more and more insights into the universe of memoria. At the beginning, we are deluded into thinking that there is a storyline, but very soon the pseudo storyline goes to hell and both Jessica and us just experience the past, the unknown, the non-existent. I personally loved the antenna metaphor, however, there are a lot of others; and the whole film leaves you absolutely hypnotized and in awe.

This is a long movie, with not much of a story line. Very little dialogue and some beautiful photography. Slow all of the time and confusing most of the time.

So why did i give it a 7? I actually considered an 8, but thought a solid 7 was more appropriate.

A very pleasant way to spend couple of hours on a cool rainy day. I do not think i saw the sun once in the movie rather like the last week here in Valencia, Spain.

Sometimes it is nice to have something to chill to.

Colombia's official entry to 2022's Oscars is the most disappointing, boring and useless movie of the year. It's unnecessarily long and slow-paced with many annoyingly long silent shots. The plot is stupid and confusing. It drags all the time and then unsatisfactorily rushes. Nothing makes any sense and many points remain unexplained. It's one of those movies that you either truly love or hate, I did hate it.

This is the slowest movie I have ever seen and I liked it. I didn't count but there are static 1 minute scenes where basically nothing happens but that is the point. I think those were just brilliant. This movie is so different from others.

You really have to be inside the movie to watch this. No preconceptions, no rush. Just sink. It is an sensory experience. If you find it, you will just love this one. If you cannot sink or live in the moment, you will probably hate this. Before watching this, analyze yourself how acceptable you are.

After watching this movie I thought I should check online what this movie is about but then I realized I could spoil the movie for myself. How can you spoil a movie that you have already watched?

I read other reviews here and I understand why people are leaving 1-2 star reviews. If you like hollywood productions, this is not for you at all. This is not a "crowpleaser" movie - it is totally original and very very different. You have to be open to watch this movie. Someone wrote here that this is meditative & transcendental - and that is a very good analysis.

Tilda Swinton wading through strange experiences in Colombia, including hearing a recurring booming thump should theoretically lead to some powerfully subtle storytelling. A possible allegory could be in play. At the bare minimum, a psychological character study should emerge. Unfortunately, we get none of the above. Instead, we end up with a narrative that is opaque, frustrating and at times bordering on aimless, leading to a conclusion that feels almost like filler. Along the way, the film often has a dead zone in which one scene after another is stretched to the point of emptiness. One of the more perplexingly sedate films in recent memory. While I respect the craft and intentions, the overall impact left me cold. Not recommended.

Literally had no story. Maybe it was there, but it made no sense. I will say I felt more alive after the movie, because leaving the theater and going outside gave me more stimulation then this.

"Enjoy the silence" a title card states as Apichatpong Weerasethakul invites the viewer to experience MEMORIA; And, an experience it truly is as Weerasethakul's metaphysical film infuses the viewer with natural sights and sounds. That opening acts almost as an overture, as the Director's personal sketches are superimposed over still photographs from the production of the film - all 'scored' to absolute silence.

MEMORIA's protagonist is Jessica (Tilda Swinton) who awakes one morning to a mysterious sonic bang. Jessica is a botanist living in Columbia who is visiting her sister in Bogota. The bang continues to haunt Jessica as she goes about her daily life. Slowly, she feels that her mind is slipping - is she imaging the sounds? People she believes she has met don't seem to exist. On a drive back to her home in Medellin, she meets (or does she?) a man named Hernan (Elkin Diaz) and they spend a long afternoon together.

Weerasethakul's film doesn't have a formal plot. Swinton is so attuned to her filmmaker's methods that she inhabits rather than acts. The Director's method is to utilize only the most minimal of editing with extended takes. Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom exquisitely captures the crucial mood and beauty of the natural world on 35mm film. The sonic bangs seem ever more loud because the sound design accentuates an organic soundscape; even the human voices are seemingly mixed below normal levels.

"Sometimes there's no escape except in dreams" reads another title card after the 'overture'. The classical definition of "Memoria" can be very loosely translated as "Memory", but its true meaning is much deeper. It describes a way in which the human mind stores and utilizes those thoughts and senses. The sonic bangs can be seen as a way of triggering Jessica's states of consciousness. Her own Memoria.

MEMORIA isn't a film for general audiences. Indeed, it's release is a never-ending world tour with the Producers claiming it shall never be sold for home viewing - streaming or physical media. It's very much a communal experience in a theater. The aural and visual tour de force to be savored not only by the individual -- but, by the audience in toto.