Competition review - REMEMBER by Atom Egoyan
What it possibly lacks is a faithful examination of the mental condition which affects him - the fact that the main character has to keep reading a letter to remind him of everything is somewhat misguided. Nor is there any significant portrayal of the concern of his family for his well being, as they helplessly try to understand where he has disappeared to in his precarious condition. The series of encounters between the Holocaust survivor and the Nazis are intriguing, but their significance to the eyes of history is always downplayed, sometimes with great effect and avoiding an obnoxious air of self-righteousness.
REMEMBER also features MARTIN LANDAU and BRUNO GANZ in solid supporting roles, the first as PLUMMER's confidant and the latter as one of the possible former SS officers. But the heavy handed use of MYCHAEL DANNA's admittedly gorgeous original score sometimes seems to upfront challenge their abilities, despite the fact that the acting is the best aspect of ATOM EGOYAN's film. But the visual style remains clinical, and doesn't show any of the flamboyance of the filmmaker's work, thus giving the film a type of chamber piece like outlook despite the grandeur of its central theme and the size of the travels undertaken by its central character.
REMEMBER is an easy watch, but probably not as stand out among the numerous other revisitations and ponderings on the issue of Holocaust than one might have hoped. This is mostly because despite the importance of the issues that it touches, it doesn't carry any powerful conclusion, nor does it really aim to, remaining more focused on the human side of the story and more human aspects of the themes guilt.