Rewatched Memento recently and found it hit a lot harder than the first time I saw it.
First time I enjoyed the twisty short term memory loss puzzle movie. The themes were palpable (as with any Nolan movie) but less overt than his later work. Stellar work from Guy Pearce and Carrie Ann Moss and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a unique thriller movie.
Second time it dawned on me how much the progression of Leonard Shelby's story mirrors life and history itself. At the start of the film you are presented Shelby's facts as if they are indisputable. Over the course of the movie you go back in time to see each tattoo and note and see how flimsy the original justification really is. Leonard has complete faith in his own notes, when often they are written on a whim in the heat of a moment.
Much of life feels similar. As an example at a young age we're taught doctors fix medical problems. Many of us probably had complete faith in doctors. At an older age we learn those doctors are flawed human beings that sometimes don't have the answers.
A great scene and quote from the west wing that reminds me of this disparity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ2AKTHcb4o
Answer one (Memento note type): "Free trade is essential for human rights. Instead of isolating them we make them live by the same global trading rules as everyone else, and gain 1.2 billion consumers for our products and strengthen the forces of reform."
Answer two (Memento reality type): "The answer I just gave you on free trade, you know there's a decent chance I'm full of crap right? Free trade is essential for human rights. The end of that sentence is we hope because nothing else has worked."
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"Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power."
19 Sep 2020, 1:53 am
