MovieChat Forums > Mémoires affectives (2007) Discussion > I still don't quite understand...**SPOI ...

I still don't quite understand...SPOI LERS

posted 18 years ago by lynn2dove
3 replies | jump to latest

I have been reading through the French comments using Babel Fish translator, but the ideas don't come through clearly with spelling errors and dialect BF doesn't recognise...

I still don't understand why conversations turned around the way they did. The daughter changing her attitude, I chalked up to bitterness, but was taken aback by the suddenness of it. I was outright confused by the associate who switched from "we're lifelong friends who met as teens" to "we met in vet school, maybe we should start being friends now." When it happened with Gros Pierre and Carole, I finally recognised the pattern... With Gros Pierre, it was the only memory that wasn't about Alexandre, but about his brother.

So, please someone help me understand what is the significance of the changing statements? The only one we can be sure is true is Gros Pierre's first statement of seeing Joseph every year (which changes to "haven't seen him in 30 years). Are all the first statements the true ones in Alexandre's perception, so what he expects to hear, and the 2nd ones the perceptions of the speakers, so it's what they say? (As I type I remember the comments of the Dr early on about perseption and truths...) I may finally be seeing a connection between Alexandre's history of hiding truth behind created perception and these scenes...The death of his father was first drowning (memory he edited), then hunting accident (memory his brother created to justify the death), then Alexandre shooting his abusive father (truth). Am I close?

AAARRRGGGGHHHH

I watched it with subtitles, and ALL the scenes with voice-over (don't know if narration or reflection, 'cause I don't know French) had no subtitles. The scene where Alexandre is contemplating everybody else's words is translated...

[–] fyrefly7 17 years ago

I completly agree with you on your comments about the film. I thought Dupuis' performance was great, and the film was shot very well. But just when I thought the film was gonna focus on how people around Alexandre were "changing opinions" on him, the film moves into the another dirction about the incident with his father.

It seemed to have ended soo abruptly for me, but I thought his last lines were interesting where he discribes how he is depending on his "daughters hope.....etc". This movie really needs a sequel. I'm all for movies having twists and all, but you can't just do what they did, and forget about the other characters. What was the point with Fracois and his connection to the story ???

At least the film was intersting,engaging and well done.

[–] malitajones 17 years ago

It is indeed a very complicated story line and required quite a bit of thought and talking it out loud, mostly to myself!

Somehow when he woke up it was like he became two people - Alexander and an ancient Indian that spoke Montagnais - http://www.native-languages.org/montagnais.htm - possibly was channeling a deer as well that was never fully explained- as the Indian he was transmitting (stealing) the memories of his loved ones - in the first scene with his wife she tells him she is in love with Francois and they are going to marry - then she leaves the hospital and is baffled that Francois is so familiar with her and can't remember that they are in a relationship - she then can't remember that her daughter took this picture of she and Francois - she has absolutely no memory of it - Alexander or the Indian took it - same with the daughter, the best friend, the girlfriend and the game warden- they speak a memory out loud and as they do this it is literally like a computer transmitting a file from one computer to another - it is gone from one and retained in the other.

This is why he started having "memories" of Francois - it was his wife's memories, not his. Notice it's Michelle's voice then his on top of Michelle.

This is explained somewhat when he meets with the two doctors, then in the scene with he and the police officer when he is eating steak with her (when he remembers his brother's license plate) he says "I am afraid to talk to people, afraid I will steal their memories".

It's truly a brilliant film - wrapping your mind around it is very enlightening!

[–] filmfancy 14 years ago

The film could have been brilliant if it would have been properly explained. It wasn't really set up as having supernatural elements.

Tacking on an ending where we're supposed to believe that Alexandre somehow absorbed a Native's spirit just creates more confusion.

His 'stealing' other people's memories is a good concept, but the film never really develops this premise. Every scene where characters suddenly change what they're saying to Alexandre midway is very confusing.

Also, focusing on what really happened to Alexandre's father then dropping the other storylines, is just bad cinema. There are just too many questions left hanging; in particular, who committed the hit-and-run?

I'm from Quebec, love Roy Dupuis, and support Québecois cinema, but this could have been much much better.

Very disappointing.

"Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

I still don't quite understand...**SPOI LERS**

I still don't quite understand...SPOI LERS