When
it comes to memory, we’re like Goldilocks. We always want a little more or a
little less. It’s never exactly right. The temptation to start fiddling around
with how memories are processed, stored, and accessed in that strange device
called the human mind has taken on Frankenstein-like implications in
speculative fiction and psychological thrillers. When bestselling novelist
Jiang Feng has a few select memories extracted, it similarly leads him down a
rabbit-hole he won’t soon forget in Leste Chen’s Battle of Memories (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.
Pained
by his upcoming divorce from Zhang Daichen, Jiang goes in for the Spotless Mind treatment. However, for reasons
that will be revealed later, she insists he have them reinstated, before she
signs the papers. This is a process that can only be done twice, so the next
memory removal will be permanent. In a colossal mix-up, the wrong memories are
re-inserted into Jiang’s noggin. Suddenly, he is getting flashbacks to murders
he never committed.
Due
to the suspense-enhancing circumstances of the process, it will take
seventy-two hours for the memories to fully reconstitute themselves. He is also
emotionally detached from the dramatic events in question, watching them unfold
in his memory like a spectator. Yet, the killer’s identity remains unknown,
because Jiang has no context for knowing it a priori. Instead, he will have to
deduce it from clues within the flashbacks. The detectives investigating the
latest murder, grizzled Shen Hanqiang and his eager junior Lei Zi, mostly believe
Jiang, but they are not as proactive as he would like protecting Zhang Daichen.
Logically, he figures if he has the killer’s memories, it stands to reason the unknown
psychopath must have his.
Memories is the second
serious-as-a-heart-attack psychological thriller Chen has made featuring a star
of China’s blockbuster “Lost in” slapstick comedies, following The Great Hypnotist, featuring Xu Zheng.
In this case, it will be Bo Huang carrying the film quite well as the
increasingly disoriented and disturbed Jiang. In fact, his sad hound dog face
is rather perfect for Jiang. He always looks like he is confused and suffering
from a massive migraine.
NYAFF
honoree Duan Yihong is terrific as the flinty Det. Shen and newcomer Liang
Jieli (a.k.a. Patricio Antonio Liang) shows real breakout potential as Lei Zi.
However, the film’s real not-so-secret weapon is Yang Zishan (star of the
monster hit So Young) as police
doctor Chen Shanshan, who will keep viewers guessing as her backstory is
revealed.
