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★★★★★
Directed by: Nils Janlert
Starring: Emil T. Jonsson, Mikael Bergsten, Kerstin Gandler and Maria Kruse LGBT Film Review by: Rachel Pullen
How much do people get a boner over things all shot in one single take, loads!!! People proper love it, look at the opening to the 1978 classic Halloween, where baby Michael puts on the clown mask and does a stabbing on his sister. Classic banter, Michael loves a stabbing.
Anyway, point is there is something magical about capturing everything in that one take, no reshoots, no time to analyse your performance and make it different every time, the actors are in that moment, just like real life, each reaction flows to the next, building to an emotional climax, there is a reason, it seems for all those films making boners…
Memory of You is a beautiful short directed by Nils Janlert and of course it is all done in one single shot, [it would be weird after that opening if it wasn’t] it tells the story of Adam [played by Emil T Jonsson] who, when out on a dinner date with his wife, spies a familiar face in an art gallery over the road.
Using the old ‘’I left my wallet in the car’’ [classic Adam] trick he sneaks out to reconnect with his former friend…did I say friend what I meant was lover, oh yeah that’s right, and in a cramped back room of the gallery they reconnect and discuss their lives without each other, a simple catch up it seems…or is it?
The conversation is well scripted, with all the tension and anxiety that would come from such a situation, making simple chat about work and children, all with an air of desire to it, a feeling of not saying what they really want to is painfully present in the scene.
Yet when Adam tries to leave [his wife may be thinking he parked in a different country by this point] these two former lovers finally express themselves in the street, alone from the prying eyes of his co workers and Adam’s wife, their emotional exchange is one of sheer regret, of missing an opportunity and all the time wasted apart, let’s face facts most of us have been there and it sucks.
And if you have been there and experience the old classic ‘’the one that got away’ syndrome, you will understand the magnitude of this moment within Memory of You, such performances from each of the actors to the point where you are awash with those emotions being portrayed in front of your eyes, you are right there, in that moment, you are with them.
The short uses light in a magical way, its constant dimly lit appearance gives us the feeling of being undercover, not wanting to be seen, which is exactly what these two men are trying to do, they are trying to hide from the light of the world, we are given a sense that they have maybe been doing this for a while.
Music too is used in a clever way, we are thrown in and out of the hustle of the gallery and the restaurant, to being awash with calm tranquil music when our two leading men are on the screen, really giving a sense of intimacy to their conversation, the juxtaposition in sounds becomes almost offensive, when you are in the heat of the moment and a sudden burst of conversation from outside takes charge, you really feel the frustration that they must too.
Overall this short provides so much in the way of visual and auditory stimulation, not to mention that of a fantastic storyline and stunning script, reminding me of films such as Paris, je t’aime, this short will hold its place strong in the world of romantic dramas for years to come.
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