Novo

I found this film enjoyably lightweight, like the sensation of discovering romance, a flirtation with potentially philosophical overtones that are serious enough to be enchanting but without being distracting.

Graham has short term memory loss (groan! Is this a rip-off of Memento?) . . . but wait a minute, see if the style attracts you before we look at the substance.

Fast-cutting shots (with almost a nod to À Bout de Soufflé) catch us effortlessly into the world that Graham and everyone around him has learnt to manage (He has a job doing photocopies in a large office). This is a world of romance and flirtation, but the women in his life are aware of his illness. Acknowledged influences include Japanese photography and Japanese bondage. The occasionally disjointed editing serves as a reminder of his mental state.

I invite you to go back in time, to think of your first date with someone who later became very special (or who might have been). Think of that moment, if you will, before that first kiss. Isn't there that point on a date where you both know it's going to happen? You can almost sense what it will be like. You can imagine that first brush of the lips, their breath against your skin, before passion locks your two souls together! Their mouth approaches yours, tentatively. Can you almost feel the moment stretch out in time?

A celebrated Japanese photographer, on the DVD featurette, explains how he uses objects to invade space and maintain continuity, extending intimacy beyond the instant of a still photograph. For Graham, that moment lasts a lifetime. He has to write notes to remind himself who he is in love with. His lover has the advantage that she knows his secrets, knows what turns him on, but can also delight in witnessing his newness, when each time is the first time. It's like a Groundhog Day in reverse, forever the thrill of the new.

In the story, complications set in when Graham 'sleeps with other people'. He maintains his childlike innocence and tries to be a decent, moral chap (made harder by being dashingly good looking). The people around him are faced with losing their own 'innocence' and the ingenuous beauty that goes with that. It is their personalities, rather than his, that face the fall from Eden. The whole story is told with a realistic, inquisitive, and sometimes kinky sexuality. Nudity is used to create a sense of wonder instead of the titters so common in a British movie or the embarrassment in an American one. With superb acting throughout, we can't help but admire how wonderfully at ease the French are with their bodies.

Novo does not have the impressiveness of Memento. Memento thought of the idea first. Novo is not a taut thriller. But it takes the device of short-term memory loss and uses it, even if it is with limited success, to say something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

I just rented and viewed this film a couple of days ago and.... I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!! I am sorry but this film is just a waste of.... film, you know? I am a big Eduardo Noriega fan but he just wasted his time going over the border to France to star in this pretentious film, and I love French films! This is an arty film without arty actually applying to any facets of the film in a positive sense, that is. An attractive female lead is wasted as well despite some interesting shots of her pubic hair. Anyway, do not waste your time with this film. There are a number of nude scenes that include both leads that are un-erotic. An the beautiful young Spanish actress Paz Vega is totally wasted as is Eric Caravaca in a supportive role. Next!!!

a disconcerting production, full of charm for an art flick that tries to envision the relation between love (and lust) and memories. This is the strength of the film (a universal theme about which there is much to say) and its weakness because the director has not followed his ideas to its logical conclusions. One cannot help thinking that this film could have been really excellent if the narration were less syncopated. The similarities with memento are obvious but the loss of memory here seems to be more an excuse than a "raison d'être" because the love story between Graham and Irène gives rise to numerous interesting themes (the happy-go-lucky Amnesiac opposed to his passionate lover, the naive Amnesiac opposed to people who take advantage of him, the carefree wandering life and the freedom of love when you are free of your memories, etc....) without fully exploiting them.

Nevertheless the charm of the film lies in the way the camera is in love with Graham (the Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega)and thus continually spies on his sensual body with a certain sense of decency. The beautiful Spanish actor is really the epicenter of the film and gives an undisputed sensual color. The French actress Anna Mouglalis is also perfect in her role. Nudity does not aim at being a provocation, sensuality and pleasure seem to be devoid of any guilt (beware because it might put off some viewers) in this film.

to sum up : a smart and sensual attempt to deal with the theme of amnesia with casualness and thoughtlessness

Anterograde amnesia, the inability to form new memories, is a popular plot device. It allows storytellers to repeatedly explore the protagonist's plight, without all the extra suspension of disbelief that comes with using a time loop instead. It's almost always caused by vitamin B1 deficiency from repeatedly getting blackout drunk or anorexic/bulimic extreme fasting. But being self-inflicted would make the protagonist unsympathetic, so the storytellers contrive it to be caused by trauma. Examples: Clean Slate (1994), Memento (2000), Novo (2002), 50 First Dates (2004), etc. Those are not spoilers, because the condition is revealed at the start of the films, usually even in the advertising!

Novo is one of the better anterograde amnesia films. It has a point to make, comparing love and lust in the light of shared memories.

Odd none of the others showed up in its "More like this" list, don't you think?

Jean Pierre Limosin has taken on a story interlacing memory, love, history, and passion that not only has pertinence in our galloping society of hasty encounters and transient relationships but also pleads a case for people with cognitive dysfunction. Unfortunately the film is marketed as a comedy and while there are some curious incidents that cause a bit of nervous laughter, this viewer sees the work as more of a difficult struggle for those affected by mental malfunctions that affect not only the patient but also those who surround him.

Graham/Pablo (the handsome and gifted Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega - 'Burnt Money', 'Abre los ojos', The Devil's Backbone', etc), though obviously bright and capable, works as a photocopy clerk for a large company, but suffers from memory loss, a deficit that prevents his remembering his wife Isabelle (Paz Vega) and son Antoine (Lény Bueno), his best friend Fred (Eric Caravaca), and his fellow coworkers. It also obscures his memory of flirtations and sexual encounters, including libidinous frequent seductions from his boss Sabine (Nathalie Richard). When a temporary worker Irene (Anna Mougalis) is hired Graham is told to show her the building and they end up on the roof in a passionate embrace - which of course Graham immediately forgets. But daily encounters with Irene gradually become so rich in passion that they somehow begin to register on Graham's tabula rasa mind condition! Graham's means of survival lies in the notebook attached to his wrist in which he keeps a diary of all events to remind him of each day's events. This 'artificial memory/identity' provides information for Irene, for Fred, and for his doctors and each of them has reasons to use this diary to their own ends: Fred while supportive of his friend is actually in love with Isabelle, and Irene finds evidence of Graham's affection for her that suggests to her a method of helping Graham restore his memory - and in doing so, possibly win his permanent allegiance to her.

There are some bumpy portions of this film that create confusion at times, but in retrospect one wonders if this might have been the intention of the director - placing us as viewers into the mindset of short term memory loss to better understand Graham's plight! The cast is uniformly strong and Eduardo Noriega once again proves that he is completely capable of taking on a challenging role and finding the humanity within. Yes, there are some graphic sex scenes but they serve to intensify the flow of the story in view of the condition of Graham to whom every encounter has all the lust of a first encounter with an unknown lover! Recommended. Grady Harp