The two most remarkable things about "Remember", the 2015 German- Canadian thriller starring Christopher Plummer as an elderly concentration camp survivor set on revenge, are the story's premise and Plummer's acting. Plummer deserves praise for his skillful portrayal of the role of Zev Gutman, a dementia patient who is manipulated into seeking revenge for the alleged murder of his loved ones at Auschwitz. Revenge in this case means murdering a ruthless former Blockführer named Otto Wallisch who apparently escaped to the United States after World War 2 by stealing a Holocaust victim's identity.
"Remember" has an interesting premise with such great potential. The movie tells the story of an elderly man who struggles with memory loss but only remembers his need for revenge as a concentration camp survivor. Although "Remember" is primarily a thriller, there is plenty of golden irony and dark humor buried amidst all of the drama of the story. During one particularly morose scene, Gutman gets into a verbal and eventually a physical scuffle with the son of a Nazi who expressed his ardent support for Hitler's lost cause. The ensuing fight that follows itself is rife with dark humor.
But it subliminally raises an important ethical question. Is it right to punish former Nazi's who have spent more time as ex-Nazi's than Nazi's? What about current supporters of the Nazi ideology who are far removed from the carnage of World War 2? At what point do such actions deserve to be forgiven rather than remembered and punished? Perhaps it depends on the individual. Unfortunately, the answers to these important questions are left for the audience to decide. The story progresses and eventually Gutman finds his target.
This is the biggest problem with "Remember" given the inherent potential of the movie's premise to produce a film that was as profound as it was thrilling. Although Remember tells a compelling story and loosely touches on broader topics like aging and war crimes, any members of the audience looking for deeper meaning will surely be left disappointed. But the film is still worth a watch.
The director of "Remember", Atom Egoyan is known for favoring twists as a tool to retroactively tell the story. This film is no exception. Although the film barely touches on the complex topics that it could have addressed, the film does entertain by ending with an unforeseen twist that changes the very nature of how one understands the film.
"Remember" has an interesting premise with such great potential. The movie tells the story of an elderly man who struggles with memory loss but only remembers his need for revenge as a concentration camp survivor. Although "Remember" is primarily a thriller, there is plenty of golden irony and dark humor buried amidst all of the drama of the story. During one particularly morose scene, Gutman gets into a verbal and eventually a physical scuffle with the son of a Nazi who expressed his ardent support for Hitler's lost cause. The ensuing fight that follows itself is rife with dark humor.
But it subliminally raises an important ethical question. Is it right to punish former Nazi's who have spent more time as ex-Nazi's than Nazi's? What about current supporters of the Nazi ideology who are far removed from the carnage of World War 2? At what point do such actions deserve to be forgiven rather than remembered and punished? Perhaps it depends on the individual. Unfortunately, the answers to these important questions are left for the audience to decide. The story progresses and eventually Gutman finds his target.
This is the biggest problem with "Remember" given the inherent potential of the movie's premise to produce a film that was as profound as it was thrilling. Although Remember tells a compelling story and loosely touches on broader topics like aging and war crimes, any members of the audience looking for deeper meaning will surely be left disappointed. But the film is still worth a watch.
The director of "Remember", Atom Egoyan is known for favoring twists as a tool to retroactively tell the story. This film is no exception. Although the film barely touches on the complex topics that it could have addressed, the film does entertain by ending with an unforeseen twist that changes the very nature of how one understands the film.