A review by atticmoth
Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

informative mysterious relaxing sad fast-paced

3.0

I really wanted to rewatch Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, but due to the film’s unique “never-ending” theatrical release strategy, that was not an option, so I picked up this behind-the-scenes art book instead. It’s a gorgeous volume, clothbound with full-page spreads, but I found the information a bit disjointed and lacking. The book comprises Weerasethakul’s preproduction notebooks and other materials that inspired Memoria, such as scientific articles, news reports, and archaeological specimens. Having seen the movie (a few years ago, when it first came out), a lot of this reminded me of aspects I had forgotten, and tied together parts of the film that didn’t make sense to me. I’m sure that if I ever get to rewatch Memoria I will come away with a deeper understanding, having been privy to Weerasethakul’s thought processes. But the layout was scattered and kind of bad… it’s gorgeous (though not without a few questionable graphic design decisions) but could have been put together a lot more thoughtfully. Excerpts from the script are scattered throughout at random; while gorgeous, I would have rather read the entire thing. My favorite part of the book was the last section, someone’s production diaries (I am not actually sure whose!) I love reading production diaries, like Emma Thompson’s exceptional account of filming Sense & Sensibility, and Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew, which I am also currently reading. Ironic that the section with no photographs at all gave me the most insight into the mysteries of this beautiful, multilayered film.