The Cannes Film Festival is definitely hosting a few odd movies this year, and it would appear that Memoria is joining the list since Tilda Swinton’s slightly muted performance in this trailer is already enough to give some people the sense that something just isn’t right. From the images we see in the trailer, Swinton’s character will have something to do in the jungles of Colombia, she’ll have something to do with archaeological finds, and the bang she hears and can’t fully describe to a sound technician is going to have a lot to do with it. But what will connect everything is as of yet unknown, though there is the feeling that some big reveal will be coming to the audience, or will be insinuated at the very least. Right now there’s not a lot to go on when it comes to this movie, but it’s already bound to get a lot of attention since it does look like the type of movie that has drawn the attention of people lately. Whether it will be a big hit or not is hard to say.
Tilda has starred in a number of oddball movies or movies that have a seriously deep meaning to them even if it doesn’t always translate as easily to every person. Memoria is bound to be one of them since just in case people haven’t figured it out yet, the word ‘memoria’ is Latin and can be translated as ‘memory, which goes a long way toward explaining the theme of the movie likely is. There are many that would likely argue that there are genetic memories that are handed down from one generation to another, bits of memory that are encoded in our DNA and thereby make it possible for humans to remember certain things that the people of today have no earthly business knowing.
It’s a subject that many people don’t put a lot of stock in since forming memories is, to many, a product of a lifetime of sensory experience that can’t be handed down like the color of our eyes or skin. But the reality is that quite a bit of research has been done on genetic memory since there are plenty of moments when a person might simply know things without having any earthly reason to do so. A genetic memory isn’t perfect, but it’s something that can and does happen from time to time, almost like an echo along the genetic code that takes a great deal to decipher but can be sensed and somehow defined if a person can figure out how. This isn’t an easy process as the trailer would indicate since it’s more of a feeling and a bit of recognition of something we don’t fully understand thanks to a lack of experience with the subject that might have caused such a memory to occur. But it’s something visceral, deep, and undeniable since the idea of simply ‘knowing’ things without understanding why has happened to many people throughout history and is far more common than folks might think. In part, it could explain why some things come easier to some people than others, and why certain folks are able to grasp certain concepts and truths of the world around them in a way that they don’t fully understand.
But as the trailer shows, there are haunting and irritating memories that might trigger something in a person that they don’t comprehend or even understand. The mention of a hole in an ancient skull that was meant to release evil spirits is a practice called trepanation. In many parts of the world, this practice was seen to occur, and yet while the evil spirits portion is something that has been passed around, it’s also been stated by many that this was a surgical procedure that was done for a purpose, which is ghastly when thinking about it but not hard to believe considering how the field medicine has evolved over the years. Memoria is already looking like something that will raise a lot of questions if it manages to get the attention of the audience and can keep it for longer than a half-hour or so. The movie does look as though it moves kind of slowly, but perhaps that will work to its advantage.
In any case, Tilda Swinton will no doubt be her usual unexpected self since she’s proven to be able to fold herself into one role after another in order to give the best possible performance she can for each movie. She’s definitely been less than well-received in some roles, such as the Doctor Strange movie when she played the role of the Ancient One, but it feels as though this was a minor hiccup in an otherwise impressive career that one can’t help but think is still just as solid as ever.
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