9 upbeat movies about memory loss that offer hope

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

“Memory is such a thing that it is not yet known what surprises it can bring,” the hero of one of the films once said. The exploitation of a situation when one of the characters completely or partially loses memory is a favorite technique of scriptwriters. After all, how much it opens up scope for the plot. What's in store for the hero? He does not know who he is and what events preceded this tragic event. Or maybe memory will play a cruel joke with him - it will slip pictures from someone else's life, which is completely impossible to write into the present one. And who are these people around? Are they real friends who came to help, or, on the contrary, are they enemies?

Unraveling the tangle of mysteries, you can make a film in the genre of drama, comedy, thriller and even action. And how many Indian melodramas use this theme! Remembering films with a similar theme, the most popular ones immediately come to mind, for example, "Overboard" (1987), "Unlucky" (1981) "The Bourne Identity" (2002) "Total Recall" (1990) and the Soviet serial the film "The Return of Budulai" (1986). Today we will dig into our memory and find the very best.

Witch Doctor (1982)

In addition to the modern version of this plot (the picture of the same name, but in 2019 with Daniil Strakhov in the title role), there is also a drama by Polish director Jerzy Hoffmann. According to the plot, the famous surgeon Rafal Vilchur suddenly finds out that his beloved wife is cheating and is going to leave him with his little daughter Marysya. The earth for him is covered with darkness, and the professor decides to pour wine over his grief. But then a banal robbery takes place, and the man finds himself without money and without memory - a blow to the head causes him partial amnesia. But, hands remember everything. After several years of wandering, the former surgeon finds himself as a village doctor, whose fame spreads throughout the district. And, one day, they brought him a girl injured in an accident, whom doctors consider hopeless. Lacking surgical instruments, the main character is forced to steal them. After a successful operation, the girl recovers. The song hummed to her is vaguely reminiscent of Raphala. And the memory is gradually returning. But a new round of troubles surrounds the hero again …

"Before I Sleep" (2014)

A thriller film starring Nicole Kidman. We liked this film because of the unpredictability of the plot. And the ending is completely different from the intended outcome. The main character has a severe form of amnesia - the next day she does not remember anything from the previous day. In addition, the woman thinks that something incomprehensible is happening around her. The film is structured in such a way that the viewer will doubt himself until the end of the picture whether there was any conspiracy against the main character, or whether she has a manic-depressive psychosis.

"I don't want to forget" (2004)

A beautiful touching story with high-quality acting. It touches the soul, but when viewed it causes a sea of tears. The main character is a woman who lives in abundance and does not need anything. But suddenly it turns out that there is no ordinary human love - it is abandoned by a married lover. Of course, she is experiencing a loss. And one day he accidentally meets an ordinary carpenter. The guy is poor, but his inner world is rich. And he has a dream - to become an architect. Fascinated by each other, the couple marries. Then I would exclaim: "Advice, yes, love," but everything is spoiled by the woman's illness. She loses her memories …

"Honey in the Head" (2014)

This is a story about a family. About the love of a granddaughter to her grandfather, filmed in the genre of a tragicomedy. By the way, this film became the leader in the distribution of the 2014 season, it was watched by more than 7 million viewers in cinemas in Germany. So, the main character, Grandpa Amandus, often finds himself in awkward situations. He develops Alzheimer's disease. The son and daughter-in-law are even thinking of sending him to a nursing home. However, granddaughter Tilda decides in her own way. She goes with her grandfather to Italy, where he spent the best month of his life in his youth. On the way, various funny stories happen to the fugitives, and the kind people who are always in the world help them.

The English Patient (1996)

Let's just say one thing - the novel of the same name received the Booker Prize, and the film got as many as nine Oscars. The English patient was the name of a man who looked like an Englishman who miraculously survived a plane crash. He will have to undergo treatment in Italy. But in fact, what remains of the body is a piece of mutilated flesh, and completely without memory. Therefore, they gave him this nickname. Realizing the inevitability of death, a person gradually begins to remember his past. And the viewer is told the love story of a young explorer for a married woman.

50 first kisses (2004)

Head injuries do not go unnoticed. It also happened to the heroine Drew Barrymore, who got into a car accident. As a result, the girl was diagnosed with a rare disease - short-term memory. Every day for her was like a repetition of the previous one. Such a kind of "Groundhog Day", but with the difference that others had to adjust. Relatives did not want to injure her psyche and in every possible way hid the girl's amnesia. But one day she meets a guy. The young couple likes each other. But here's the trouble: in the morning the girl forgot everything. Because of what, the lover has to win the beauty's heart over and over again.

"The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996)

Okay, when ordinary people forget. But when the memory of the hired killer Charlie disappears, everyone becomes uncomfortable. And first of all, a private detective who decided to help the girl. His client engages in such deadly adventures that you never dreamed of.

"Flight of the Bumblebee" (1999)

This is a story about a guy who is fatally diagnosed with bone cancer. Scientists working on this disease are contemplating an experiment. What if the patient is influenced and partially erased. After all, it is our brain that is the generator of the growth of cancer cells. Can the brain forget to grow cancerous tumors, or will they stop growing? Later, from the film, we learn that the result was positive. The young man recovered. But over time, the disease returns again. And then there is a dilemma: is it necessary to forget everything and everyone, but at the same time continue to live or die, but not betray memories?

"Others" (2001)

A mystical horror film from director and screenwriter Alejandro Amenabar with Nicole Kidman in the title role. The plot revolves around the strange house and family of Grace with children, from whose memory a whole chunk of their life has disappeared. They are a little strange, but for the time being they are unaware of it. Terribly scary, but the outcome is unexpected and even to some extent philosophical.