Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s latest film is less cinema and more art installation.  Only those familiar with the Thai filmmaker’s previous work will approach with the necessary expectations. Narratively we journey with Tilda Swinton’s Jessica across Columbia as she attempts to uncover the meaning behind a mysterious bang causing her sensory distress, but this is far from conventional cinema fare. 

The images are so still, any sense of narrative progression so restrained that if not in the right frame of mind your focus can drift elsewhere. If you are able to attune yourself to the film’s rhythm, however, then Memoria’s audiovisual language can create a transcendental and hypnotic experience. Concepts of time and space are blurred, existential and philosophical questions posed, and in the end it removes itself from reality as we know it. 

To add to the sense of art installation profile Weersethankul has ensured that the way to see his latest film is via the movie theatre, through a unique release strategy with lead distributor NEON. If you’re going to see it, you will need to be sat in that dark room in front of that significant screen and find out whether Memoria will simply bore you or inspire something more spiritual. 

Memoria will be released by Sovereign Film Distribution on 14th January 2022