FILM INFO: A man desperate to rewrite his own past develops a way to steal peoples' memories and relive them as his own, but loses his identity in the process.
WRITTEN BY: Brad Champagne, Brady C Nelson DIRECTED BY: Brad Champagne GENRE: Sci-Fi TIME: 17 minutes.
Although largely concept driven, the interesting aspect of "Anamnesis" is that it's core ideal, is really a cautionary tale. A concept that could really be applied to near everything in life. Now or in the future. Just because you can do something, should you? What are the consequences? Even the most harmless act can hide a dangerous reaction down the road. In the case of this film? We're talking memory. Our memories. As this story goes, written by Brad Champagne and Brady C Nelson, our lead character has found a way to take the memories of one person, and insert them into another. Much the same as the Robin Williams film "The Final Cut" or to some degree, the "Total Recall" films. This is an interesting concept overall, until you really stop and think about it. The memories are stored as a black liquid, dropped into the eyes of the recipient. This looks all cool and eerie onscreen but in reality... how would that even work? Since memory is essentially electricity... how does that factor into things? It would have been cool to have the liquid vaporize on contact, and a quick explanation where a character says something like: The liquid just "holds" the memories until ready for use. That would have been a great idea! However, looking still a little deeper, how does our lead character manage to cut and splice what's wanted and what isn't? It's not like he has a view screen to see the particular memories. As I wrote above, it's a great idea until you stop to think about it. Thankfully, by the time such thoughts enter your brain, the film is pretty much over. My point? The technical elements don't stop this movie from being entertaining. Don't even worry about them. For the die hard "plot rippers" of the world: Turn your thinking brain off as you watch. View "Anamnesis" as a source of quick entertainment, and you shouldn't be disappointed. The name of the game is to pull you into this little world and essentially, it does just that. Don't think. Just watch. This is an indie, low budget film. As such, you probably know exactly what to expect. A camera that didn't cost more than a house... and the dream to make a movie. It is safe to write however, that this is a well done indie flick. You won't be groaning as you wait for the credits to roll. It's well acted and edited with an eye for pacing. Director Brad Champagne has put together a solid film, production wise. If I had any complaints at all, it would be the use of filters and vignettes strewn through out, especially at the start. This is really a personal preference however, you, yourself may love them. In the end, "Anamnesis" manages to wrangle your attention and hold it. As I mentioned at the start of this write-up, it boasts a universal theme mixed in with it's Sci-Fi concepts. Would you? Should you? As our lead character finds out, things don't always travel the roads we know. As a well done indie film production wise, this title really does the trick when you're craving some quick entertainment. It's a good watch on any screen, and I personally loved the main prop. The "memory collector" if you please. This one cool looking device adds so much to the film, I actually paused it to check it out a little more. What's even better than a stellar, wonky looking prop? This is another film available to the public to watch for free. So why not swing by and have a look? What have you got to lose? Err... aside from maybe your childhood? Just kidding. Or am I?
