Memento of a moment.

Watched Gajini(tamil movie)? Neither did I. Hear its real good. Last weekend I suggested to my brother that we go and watch it. I told him I read somewhere in the papers that it was the remake of the hollywood flick 'Mementos' made in 2000. And guess what!- he tells me that the movie has been lying around in my computer for months now. So i set out to see for myself what in the original movie had made the critics in the paper go gaga . Directed by Christopher Nolan, the movie is inspired from a short story witten by his brother Jonathan Nolan. 'Directed by Christopher Nolan'- found reason number 1!
You'd find it easier to place him when I tell you that he is the director of the Al Pacino and Robin Williams starrer 'Insomnia' and the more recent, Chritopher Bale starrer 'Batman Begins'. I had watched and loved Insomnia. I knew my expectations,they were soaring. Having seen Memento ,now,I should tell you,I wasnt disappointed. and so wouldnt you. A gripping story that sucks you in and in no time , you have become Leonard Shelby, the protagonist. Its the story of a man who has a medical condition called CRS(Cant Remeber S---) Disease - he cant make new memories. For the sake of understanding, its like suffering from a non-existing short term memory. His wife has been raped and killed. In the effort to save her he gets hurt, a result of which he ends up having CRS- cant make memories of moments ever since then. He wants to take revenge .But to take revenge the first thing you need to know is 'I want revenge'. Leonard needs to constantly remind himself that he 'wants' to take revenge. The story tells how this man keeps a memento of every single moment cos he knows that in the next commin moment he'll never remember or know that he had been there.
Its perhaps the first time that I have watched a minimum-blood-and-gore movie and felt like I couldnt watch it to the finish. Why? Leonard Shelby feels no fear cos he cant remember to feel it while I can see,remember,relate whats happening to him and feel that fear- the fear that fails to exist in him owing to his ability to forget .It succeeds in making you understand and treasure our natural ability to make memories. Any movie aficionado will agree with me , that if the story grows on you, then a major amount of the credit goes to the mode of story tellin Nolan has used. The great script,innovative style of direction,brilliant acting makes a beauty of this movie!!! The story is split into 2 time frames -one in Black and White ,moving forward to a unknown point in time and the other in colour thats moving backwards in slices of 5-10 mins to the same unknown point. Wont say any more. cant say anymore. Here is the link to the short story by Jonathan Nolan
'Memento Mori' that inspired the movie.
Sit back and watch a great movie!
Every single moment that we can look back and remember , the memory of it ,is a momento of that moment past. REMEMBER.