REMEMORY | The Power of the Human Connection
Sam discovers more than he bargained for after going to a conference to learn more about a device that extracts memories.
Hi it's Nykole and welcome to chroma film - In this post, I'll be taking a deeper look into the concepts of the film Rememory by exploring the mysteries of Repressed Memories and the validity of the Butterfly Effect.
and without further ado, let's get into it.
Written by Mike Vukadinovich (as Michael Vukadinovich) and Mark Palansky and Directed by Mark Palansky, the 2017 film Rememory follows the life of Model maker, Sam Bloom as he takes matters in his own hands to solve a crime, but discovers more about himself than he was prepared for.
The story opens with brothers Sam Bloom, played by Peter Dinklage and Dash Bloom, played by Matt Ellis celebrating at a bar.
After leaving the bar, the two are involved in a fatal car accident that causes the demise of Dash, leaving Sam to put the pieces of his life back together.
After some time passes, we're taken to a ReMemory conference and learn about the development of a device created by psychologist and inventor Gordon Dunn, played by Martin Donovan.
Gordon claims that the device is able to read and play memories for the viewer, allowing them to retrieve the memories they've forgotten.
Later that night as Gordon sits in his office, he's confronted by a previous participant of the study and is found on the floor of his office motionless - the next morning.
In an effort to find out the truth of Gordon's death, Sam becomes a makeshift detective and conducts a series of interviews with previous study participants. During these interactions, we learn about the disturbing memories of the participants and find out the real reason Sam is so diligent about solving Gordon's murder.
The film has a somber heir and the costumes chosen for the characters match the theme of sadness that's prevalent in the lives of the characters.
Sam's wardrobe includes a range of neutrals, but leads with grays and blues - reflecting the weight of grief he felt as he continued to dig further into his own memories and he discovers the full part he played in changing the lives of those he interviews.
Based on the shade, blues can represent peace or calm, but can also mean sadness or depression. Gray could represent, being neutral or unbiased, but can also represent a person with unclear motives or having looming sadness.
Other than some brights that are worn by characters during memory sequences, The costumes of the cast includes varying shades of dark tones and neutrals creating a connection between the characters. Allowing them to blend in with the scenery, while also giving a glimpse into their emotional states.
Memory Extraction & Repressed Memories
Extracting memories through The Rememory machine has a sci-fi feel to it, but the ability to do this in real life has been a thing since as early as 2009, possibly earlier.
In 2013, this type of research got a boost during the Obama Administration with the BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnology) conducting research that focused on revolutionizing and understanding the complexities of the human brain.
The Rememory machine taps into this idea, but explores the ramifications of fiddling with the brain - this is expressed though participants suffering serious side effects like hallucinations and the inability to distinguish reality from imagination.
This concept was also explored in the black mirror series in episodes like Crocodile and The Entire History of You
Memory Repression on the other hand, is more commonly known and understood. In short, memory repression is explained as a defense mechanism put in place by the brain to protect the conscious mind from unbearable memories that lead to higher levels of stress and anxiety.
In the film, we saw 3 participants that dealt with great distress after learning what their mind actually remembered - with one of those participants crumbling under the weight of what was discovered - and took an action that can't be taken back.
All of the instances regarding memories or extraction of the memory had one main message in the film - some things are better left forgotten.
When doing this review, I thought of the Butterfly Effect - the movie not the actual theory - but this is an actual theory known as Chaos Theory, that's been researched and documented.
In general, the theory states that the slightest change to something, can cause numerous and unpredictable changes to it and the things around it - subsequently, we'll never know what the true form of the thing would've been if it was never altered.
This concept was echoed in the film through Sam's character. The events that took place at the beginning of the film were at the hands of one person - Sam. His actions and reactions from that point on - affected and altered the lives of every individual in the film and in turn, also altered the lives of anyone that was in their personal circles.
This film was a joy and a tear jerker - wonderful performances and the writing was superb - it explained as much as it needed to for the technology, while allowing me to get to know the characters deeply enough to have empathy for them.
Under the sci-fi element is a story about the human connection. How our relationships, our interactions, the connections we have between one another is always bigger than what we see from our own perspective.
the film also makes the statement that living in the past has a negative impact on the present and future. By dwelling on the things we've done in the past and not learning from or growing through them, we're bound by them - not allowing ourselves to enjoy the lives we have in the present day and altering the lives we'll have in the future.
I would recommend this to anyone that loves the sci-fi, mystery thriller, drama genres - as it truly has something for everyone - a touch of sci-fi, a mystery that makes you think you've figured it out until you realize that you didn't - and top notch performances that cause you to feel for every character. Just be ready for the waterworks.
If you saw the film , I would like to know your thoughts, tell me what you thought about it in the comments...
If you want to watch this film - it's currently available on Netflix
on that note, have an awesome day - be good to yourself and good to others - Peace.
Oh, one more thing
This really has nothing to do with what I talked about in this video - but there's a little fun clue at the end of the film...
Close to the end, when Sam goes to back to the scene of the accident, the camera focuses on and spends a good amount of time on the street name "Pequod". So of course I had to look it up...
"Pequod Rd" - what does "Pequod" mean.
The street name is possibly a reference to Moby Dick. In the story, Captain Ahab became obsessed with chasing a White Whale aka (Moby) with his ship the Pequod - he put in an immense amount of effort to hunt the whale, including putting his own safety at risk but, was unable to catch him.
The phrase "chasing a white whale" is sometimes a reference to this story, and in context, it means to exhaust all of one's efforts chasing something, but never being able to obtain it.
In Rememory, the street name could be a reference to the ship and the white whale could be the peace of mind Sam has searched for throughout the entire film.
After all the effort he put in to speak with the participants, including putting his own mental health at risk - he wasn't able to find peace until he came to the realization that the first step of healing was being honest with himself and everyone else. This idea was represented in the scene at the dock, when he finally tells someone that he spoke to daily - what his real name was.
So, yeah...
Source CREDITS:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/mar/12/mind-reading-brain-scans-memories
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/medical-advances/how-the-brain-hides-traumatic-memories
https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2015/08/how-traumatic-memories-hide-in-the-brain/
https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/06/15/repressed-memories-causes-mechanisms-coping-strategies/
https://practicalpie.com/repressed-memories/
https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-expression-white-whale-mean?share=1
https://science.howstuffworks.com/math-concepts/butterfly-effect.htm
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/BRAIN
https://www.britannica.com/science/chaos-theory
Have an awesome day, be good to yourself and good to others, Peace!