36

time goes by. I feel our memories and Photography are very common similarities, when we think about our old memories, we dont just see people/things in motion, its forms an image slowly. It is a very photogenic memory. Director Nawapol taking Memories/Photo as metaphor tells a story of unique bond/connection that formed between two different people and which slowly fades away and can be traced back only through some photos. The way Nawapol filmed this movie is so experimental in its own way, there are 36 different scenes preceded by black screen and a title/caption which gives theme or mood of the scene which is about to come. And all the 36 scenes shot in a single frame, the camera never follows characters, even when sometimes characters move to the edge of the frame or out of the frame, the camera just stays still. It kind of feels like watching a photo in motion. Like your remembering that moment which is captured in the scene. Its so refreshing and unique to watch. Photography is also a common theme/interst between two individuals who we see in this movie. One who likes to capture everything and store it as a memory in different hard drives, and one who enjoys looking and living at that moment and also likes to take photos of people but does not like being photographed. A very school guy and a new age girl. Showcasing two different mindsets of people seeing the life around us. Like how the technology has completely changed our ability to enjoy the current moment. We try to capture it in the photo rather than enjoy it and keep it as a memory in our head. There is a scene in the movie where both look at the beautiful bird, but one lives it in that moment and one captures it in camera for later. The film feels so minimalist in nature, with its simple cinematography and simple daily life characters and scenes which almost feel like docu fiction. Its very natural, slow and mundane. The film essentially feels like memory/photo, we are only seeing what Sai has lived or she captured. We never really see the other guy's face in the movie. There is only one photo in which both are together. We see it as a screensaver on Oom's laptop later. But we see that frame in blur. Like it indicates even though oom has that picture with him, but memory in his head of that moment is slowly fading away. No matter how hard you try its hard to restore just the way it was. The film reflects on the unique relation that we have with photography, cinema, and our memories. The Film doesn't really tell you whether you should click the photo of that moment or live it, it says in either way life and technology are fragile and eventually decay over time. Jus enjoy them in whatever way you love. It's such a beautiful, thoughtful and soothing movie for me.