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- 2023
- MTV Documentary Films
- 1 h 25 m
- 2023
- MTV Documentary Films
- 1 h 25 m
Summary Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.
Directed By: Maite Alberdi
- 2023
- MTV Documentary Films
- 1 h 25 m
- 2023
- MTV Documentary Films
- 1 h 25 m
The Eternal Memory
8.3
Where to Watch
Summary Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.
Directed By: Maite Alberdi
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
85
95% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
85
95% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
What rings truest and richest about The Eternal Memory, as exquisitely humane a film as you’re likely to see all year, is what abiding love and stewardship look like in the moment: to care so deeply for someone as to tend to their memories, and to be loved so deeply that it’s the last beautiful thought one may ever need.
The Eternal Memory is a salute to two courageous people, who were willing to share the joys of their daily lives, but also the anguish inflicted by a cruel disease.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 17 User Ratings
8.3
88% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
6% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 17 User Ratings
8.3
88% Positive
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
6% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
just beautiful.
Report
Alberdi makes her directorial hand virtually invisible, observing her subjects from a discreet distance that allows them to be narrators of their own story while never speaking directly to the camera.
It’s nearly impossible to talk about Alzheimer’s without forefronting misery, anger and despair. It is a cruel and callous disease that destroys lives piece by piece. Perhaps the greatest feat of the courageous The Eternal Memory, then, is Alberdi, Góngora and Urrutia’s ability to broach the subject with all of these emotions—but with an emphasis on life, not death.
An uncannily intimate portrait of a couple adapting their relationship to a disease that affects the mind, The Eternal Memory doesn’t aim to hold spectators’ hands.
The loving, lyrical Maite Alberdi -directed documentary is the story of one man’s decline due to Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s so much more. It’s a stronger love story and one that tries to say things about a country’s collective memory, too.
It’s a pleasant film, albeit one which makes its point fairly early on and then restates it in various, sometimes sentimental ways. The film lacks for a strong narrative arc, and instead opts to filter stories and histories through the present moment.
La difícil realidad del Alzheimer, narrada por experiencia y palabras propias de un periodista y su esposa, en un documental que logra ganarse la empatía del espectador sin sentimentalismos baratos. Para tener en cuenta en agenda.
Report
Maite Alberdi expands her narrative about old age with a heartbreaking story focused on the importance of memory. Taking the ex-journalist Augusto Góngora (diagnosed with Alzheimer's for years) and the actress Paulina Urrutia as study subjects, the Chilean does a simple but forceful reconstruction exercise in which her own protagonists create their own history reflecting on the past.
Alberdi lets Paulina assume something of the role of co-director by interacting with her husband, helping him remember who he is and who she is, which results in funny scenes, but others of absolute sadness; the documentary manages to capture in a very raw way what it means both to not know yourself and to see someone you love little by little disintegrate. The most distressing parts of 'The Father' here are a difficult reality.
Most interesting of all, Alberdi establishes a comparison with the historical memory of a country devastated by a brutal dictatorship, which Augusto and Paulina fought from their respective fronts. As the first said through archival material, memory is not to remain anchored in the past, but to be able to build a better future.
In the end, 'The Eternal Memory' is an absolute demonstration of love that reveals a ray of hope; Paulina will still be there even when Augusto can no longer recognize her, and that is as sad as it is comforting.
Report
It’s been said that one of the most cherished hopes for a loving relationship is that its partners inevitably have someone with whom they can grow old together, a time when they can warmly look back on their time as a couple with fondness and treasured memories. But what happens when something occurs that threatens to steal those precious recollections? That’s one of the tragedies that can come with various forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, a condition that seriously endangered the long-term loving partnership of renowned Chilean author/journalist Augusto Góngora and his wife, actress and former Minister of Culture Paulina Urrutia. But, rather than seeking seclusion in the wake of that diagnosis, Góngora insisted on making his story public, telling the tale of his condition and the diligent, compassionate efforts of Urrutia in acting as his caregiver, particularly in helping him hold on to his memory as fully and as long as possible. Their story is sensitively recounted in writer-director Maite Alberdi’s moving documentary, a film that will simultaneously warm and break your heart. In telling their tale, this title explores the importance of preserving one’s memories as a measure of one’s identity and accomplishments, both personally and professionally. In Góngora’s case, that involves the depth of his love for his wife, family and friends, as well as the critical role he played in making the Chilean public aware of the grotesque atrocities that unfolded in the wake of the country’s 1973 coup d’etat and the restoration of the nation’s cultural and artistic heritage after its return to democracy with the ouster of the Pinochet regime in 1990. Those recollections, in his view, represent a depth of courage that’s to be preserved and not lost to the ravages of time and illness. This Oscar nominee for best documentary feature and its designation as one of 2023’s top documentaries by the National Board of Review is a striking piece of filmmaking, one that’s sure to touch virtually anyone who watches it (but be sure to keep those hankies handy). When we consider what can potentially be lost under circumstances like these, any efforts made to prevent that are truly heroic steps to be commended, and this film does an outstanding job at making that known, both in this case and as a practice to be employed whenever comparable conditions arise.
Report
O Alzheimer é uma doença neurodegenerativa progressiva que afeta a memória, o pensamento e o comportamento. É a forma mais comum de demência e pode ter impactos significativos não apenas na vida da pessoa afetada, mas também na vida daqueles que a cercam, incluindo cônjuges, parceiros românticos e familiares. É neste contexto que o filme e a história de amor entre Augusto e Paulina vai situar o leitor.
Mas o pulo do gato é fazer desse pequeno relato intimista e doloroso, algo bem mais universal. Augusto, ao longo da vida, escrevera livros defendendo a democracia a partir da reconstituição da história chilena, que fora atravessada por momentos tensos, como por exemplo, o golpe de Pinochet.
Assim, a memória desempenha um papel fundamental no estudo da história e da identidade cultural de um povo, e Augusto é parte integrante dessa geração de intelectuais que vusca preservar a memória. Ela é a base sobre a qual as sociedades constroem sua compreensão do passado, moldando assim sua visão de si mesmas no presente, permitindo que as gerações subsequentes aprendam sobre os acontecimentos que moldaram a sociedade, oferecendo uma conexão viva com as raízes históricas.
Não só isso, a memória também é um veículo para a transmissão de conhecimento cultural. Tradições, rituais, histórias e valores são passados de uma geração para outra por meio da memória coletiva. Essa transmissão é essencial para a preservação da identidade cultural de um povo.
Assim, quanto mais vemos a importância da memoria, mais vemos Augusto definhar, num trabalho particularmente tocante do roteiro. Sem contar com uma mega produção a seu favor, temos aqui uma agonia que é ver a progressão da doença de forma inescapável.
A cena em que ele surte a noite, não reconhecendo a própria esposa, é uma das cenas mais agonizantes de se assistir, pois nos dá uma dimensão de impotência gigante.
Embora o documentário pouco fale sobre a questão do tratamento, mais parece com o filme "O pai" ao focar em alguns detalhes do cotidiano do casal, mas também apresenta um diálogo maior com o poder da memória de modo geral. É um documentário extremamente tocante, com passagens que humanizam o casal e imagens que os eternizam.
Report
Production Company
Fabula,
Micromundo Producciones,
Chicken And Egg Pictures,
Inmaat Productions,
UTA Independent Film Group
Release Date Aug 11, 2023
Duration 1 h 25 m
Genres
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
The Platino Awards for Iberoamerican Cinema
• 3 Nominations
