Oldal 194 [194]
CANADIAN LANDSCAPES/ PAYSAGES CANADIENS
REMEMBER — A POST-HOLOCAUST DRAMA
In contrast to the family-centred drama of The Captive, Remember explores
the long-lasting effects of the Holocaust. The film centres around Zev Guttman,
an elderly Jewish man with Alzheimer’s disease, who is convinced by a fellow
nursing home resident to seek revenge on the Auschwitz block commander
responsible for their families’ deaths. The ensuing search for justice ultimately
leads to an Oedipal identity crisis reminiscent of ancient myths.
The film features several moving scenes. Zev, whose wife has recently died,
has no memory of the tragic event due to dementia, so he is repeatedly con¬
fronted with the sudden pain of her death and has to relive the grief of losing
her over and over again. In addition, some powerful images and scenes in the
present remind him of the death camps of the past: the showerheads in the
hotel room, the explosions in the nearby quarry, a dog on a leash, barking
madly, and the loudspeakers in the bus station.
The film poses several ethical questions: Can the pursuit of justice against
war criminals, decades later and in the twilight of their lives, still hold a valid
purpose? Is revenge an adequate substitute for justice when the age of the
accused makes it doubtful that a lengthy legal process can be brought to a
conclusion? The film also questions the moral standing of those who, while
enthusiastically supporting the Nazi regime during the war, were not directly
involved in war crimes. And just as importantly, is it right for the audience to
feel sympathy for a mass murderer who has made a new life for himself in the
post-war decades and who appears on screen as a decent, even likeable person
until the last minute? How can the viewer process this sympathy in the light
of the whole story when the revelation is tragic, even if it only reveals the truth,
the crimes committed?
In addition, Remember authentically portrays the vulnerability, challenges
and sense of hopelessness associated with old age. It vividly explores the phys¬
ical and mental decline that comes with ageing, pointing out the important
social responsibility to assist the elderly in ways that are both effective and
humane. Like so many other works by Egoyan, the film is multi-layered, and
some see this as a flaw, as mentioned earlier. Jessica Kiang, for example, believes
that there are several films condensed into Remember: “In fact the loss of
memory of a survivor of the Holocaust, with its invocation to ‘Never Forget’
is so resonant and provocative, and so filled with paradoxes and tragic ironies,
that it most certainly deserves its own film. But there’s hardly room for that
film in ‘Remember, which is much more concerned with being a standard, and
fairly schlocky, revenge thriller.” However, linking the Holocaust survivor’s
story with the genre elements of a revenge thriller can also be interpreted as
a broadening of the narrative’s interpretative horizons. In addition, unpacking
the theme of amnesia in the context of the Holocaust helps to create a cinematic
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