The Eternal Memory

I hate to be excited only to be a bit disappointed.

Couldn’t wait to see this film given that it won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at Sundance combined with the trailer bringing me to tears. Yet the film drifted along and left me a bit exhausted by the end.

In Spanish with subtitles, it tells the story of Augusto and Paulina, a Chilian married couple who have been in love for 25 years. One of the Chile’s most prominent cultural commentators, he had the task of covering Pinochet’s dictatorship and its devastating effects on the country. Paulina, 17 years his junior, is an actress.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease 8 years earlier, Paulina has become Augusto’s caretaker. As he loses track of their house and her identity as his wife, they try to adapt to the many disruptions brought on by this destructive disease.

The strength of this film flows from Paulina’s tender affection and the couple’s joint sense of humor. Paulina will quickly win your admiration as a loving wife who is dedicated to caring for a husband who is gradually drifting into the mental wilderness.

But as wonderful as this 1 hour, 24 minutes film is, it unfortunately loses its emotional power as it drifts to its conclusion. For most of the film, Augusto and Paulina are the only 2 people on the screen. For me it was like going on a magical Disney ride that simply lasts too long. The movie, for all its occasional power, reminded me of the phrase, “Been there, done that.”

However, Eternal Memory has received numerous wonderful reviews, so keep that in mind. Despite my final reaction, I fully embraced a final scene where Augusto wraps his arms around a smiling Paulina, saying that he wanted to stay with her forever.

It captured the title of the film.