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Taking place in an atemporal, apolitical space, Memoria centres on Jessica, played by Tilda Swinton, a Scottish orchid farmer visiting her sister in Bogotá.Courtesy of Elevation Pictures
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Memoria
Written and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Starring Tilda Swinton
Classification N/A; 136 minutes
Opens at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto May 13, other Canadian cities throughout May
Critic’s pick
There’s something about Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The Thai auteur, who makes his English-language debut with Memoria, creates films that feel more like liminal dream states.
The plot of his latest is simple, strange and effective: Scottish orchid farmer Jessica (in a role that could only be played by Tilda Swinton) wakes up one morning from the sound of a loud reverberating bang in her dream, which repeats at odd moments during her waking life. Determined to find out why, Jessica goes on a quest to the sound recording booths, university quarters and mountainous landscapes of Bogota, Colombia, as the lines between past and future, reality and death, blur into one big bang itself.
Gorgeous wide shots and the longest takes of the year will allow your mind to settle as you watch Swinton desperately try to find the source of her existential ennui. It’s a beautiful work of cinematic concentration that’s purely Apichatpong.
Special to The Globe and Mail
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Jessica goes on a quest to the sound recording booths, university quarters and mountainous landscapes of Bogotá, Colombia, as the lines between past and future, reality and death, blur into one big bang itself.Courtesy of Elevation Pictures
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