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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 confronted 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 physical 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 +192 +
