Remember
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person he believes to be responsible for the death of his family in ... Read allWith the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person he believes to be responsible for the death of his family in the death camp to kill him himself.With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person he believes to be responsible for the death of his family in the death camp to kill him himself.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 24 nominations total
- Rudy #1's Cleaning Lady
- (as Mary 'Fran' Walsh)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
What makes the story so interesting and keeps it moving are the separate stops on the journey of the main character. In each place he visits there are additional members of the supporting cast introduced, each of whom add a uniqueness and individuality to the scenes that play out. Dean Norris certainly plays an intensely well suited and memorable role. Egoyan keeps up his trademark use of strange and unusual locations, and any fan of the director will not be disappointed.
There is a great twist in this story, one of the better ones I've seen in a while. Some good advice would be to not read any of the spoilers, although the description of how the plot changes would take up several paragraphs. You're better off watching the movie and enjoying Mychael Danna's brilliant soundtrack as an added bonus.
I expected "Remember" to be touching, but I have not expected it to be so completely powerful. It tells the sad life of an old man struggling with basic daily life because of his dementia. Then, it tells a heart wrenching story of revenge seeking. It is already a captivating story, but the story only gets better. The ending is something of a shock which leaves me literally paralysed with emotions. It leaves my brain frantically feeling the emotions of the various characters in the film, especially Zeb's and the other guy in the nursing home. The story astounds me, leaves me with tingles in my head for many minutes after the film ends. I'm made speechless by the intensity of the story. And the even more amazing thing is that the story is very believable, to the point that it could happen to anyone of the elderly generation.
I think "Remember" is a must see for everyone. Make time to find it and watch it!
Christoffer Plummer plays the role very well and in a world of entertainment where the expiry-date for lead-roles is at a young age for many it is rather refreshing to see a man of his age (85 when it was being filmed) lead a drama-thriller like this.
The smaller roles are also played well, Dean Norris stands out in a memorable performance.
I'm not gonna go into too much details but it's well worth seeing and deserves more viewers for sure.
Zev (Christopher Plummer) is an old man with dementia. After the death of his wife, his friend hands him a letter containing a mission to find the men from Auschwitz. Christopher Plummer is truly exceptional, he displays the courage as though his character is a secret agent despite deep down he's plagued with terror and uncertainty. His often meek demeanor is sympathetic to watch, but at the same time one can invest in his endeavor and motive.
The visual and audio are designed to create suspense even in trivial moments. Its main focus is a man with dementia, and little things might rattle him, so any bump in the trip proves to be challenging. Acting from the rest of cast is commendable. Characters would most likely help Zev, yet there's an unsettling feeling that their reactions can be antagonistic, especially since Zev is not particularly suave with words.
It plays with the awkward situation really well with the solemn music and view of scenery that feels darker even though it never literally becomes that way. On the other hand, this could also hamper the pace. This is far from action thriller, more investment is made towards the drama instead of gun-slinging action.
Zev's adventure is a bizarre and slow one, it's an ironic tale of both kindness and cruelty of others. Unsettling yet charming in its somber steps.
Did you know
- TriviaChristopher Plummer performed all his own piano playing.
- GoofsNear the end of the movie Zev Guttman gets out of a cab with a bag in his hands but when the cab pulls away, there is no bag.
- Quotes
Max Rosenbaum: [in letter to Zev] We are the last living survivors from our prison block. Besides me, you are the only person who could still recognize the man who killed our families.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 2016 Canadian Screen Awards (2016)
- How long is Remember?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Recuerdos secretos
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- CA$13,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,184,564
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $27,006
- Oct 18, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $4,235,959
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1