The Eternal Memory (2023)
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The Eternal Memory Movie Review
The Eternal Memory is a 2023 Chilean documentary film directed by Maite Alberdi. It’s a problematic, but mostly effective and moving film.
Chilean couple Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years, but Augusto was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease eight years ago. Both of them fear the day he will no longer recognize her. This is a more straightforward movie from Alberdi as her ‘The Mole Agent’ was more original, but also more flawed.
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Augusto and Paulina are such a wonderful couple. It is so easy to care for these two. I found their relationship beautiful and how she cared for him was just so admirable. There is a sense of shared history that the two share, a history full of excitement and pain, a history of the country under and after the horrible regime of Pinochet. Both had their important roles in the society of the time and it was interesting seeing the now regular lives of once important, famous people.
There is a lot of warmth and kindness to be found in the dynamic between the two. The movie has a big heart for sure. So many moments here are tender, lovely and even joyous in spite of this horrible disease stacked against them. It is that high emotional engagement that made the movie so effective along with its brisk runtime.
The Eternal Memory is very well filmed, solidly edited and strongly directed by Alberdi. It flows well and it is very effective in what it set out to do. It’s a simple tale that is executed in a simple way, but this subject is so tragic and universal that a more complex take on it is not needed.
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My issue with it is its repetitious nature in the second half. The movie achieved what it set out to do pretty quickly, so it lost a bit of its steam in that latter half. But the biggest problem is its lack of consent that usually plagues these movies that feature people not being aware that they are being filmed. Augusto is so vulnerable throughout, but at times I felt bad that he was used for this movie without consent.
The Eternal Memory is a Chilean documentary directed by Maite Alberdi that chronicles a couple dealing with Alzheimer’s and how it affects them on a regular basis. It’s a very moving film that is full of tenderness, warmth and kindness. It’s very well made, but it’s also somewhat repetitious. It also has that issue of the lack of consent that usually plagues these documentaries.
My Rating – 4
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