Memoria Review: An Audiovisual Trance

Memoria is a beautiful sensory experience about the timelessness of memories.

Jessica is an expatriate from Scotland who lives in Medellin. She runs a market-gardening business selling flowers. One night she is awoken by a strange sound.

The plot follows Jessica (Tilda Swinton). There’s nothing much about her except that she’s visiting her sister who is ill. There’s mention of some records, but it’s not specified. There’s this strange sound that only she can hear, snapping her out of everyday life into somewhere unknowable.

Swinton delivers a plain yet curious character that serves as the perfect conduit for the movie’s themes. As Jessica tries to find out more about the sound, the audience is given bits and pieces that there’s something more. 

With the aid of good sound design (the movie has no musical score), the audience is pulled into the ordinary life of a woman. The scenes unfold in a slow and meticulous way that makes the story is easy to follow and sustain its mystery. Without giving away too much, there are recurring images of archeological fossils and mysterious encounters. 

And what about the sound? it’s a part of that too.

All of this sounds boring, but don’t be fooled. Memoria has a simple yet grounded concept that explores the relationship between life, the passage of time, and the ability of memories to retain their significance.

Memoria tells us that behind our everyday lives, there is a world where life makes an indelible mark in places and people in bizarre ways, blurring the boundaries between past and present. One’s memory can be a fuzzy radio reception yet the feelings behind it is as clear as the day it happened.

Just like how we can remember our childhood through the taste of our mother’s dish or the smell of play-doh, Memoria reminds us of the transcendental – sometimes bittersweet – power of memories. It can transport you to a different time and place, and through this, a part of life lives on. 

Memoria is for the patient and curious, who will be rewarded with a jaw-dropping ending and interesting discussion.