Films And The Memories They Trigger

I'm surprised this hasn't had more responses.

The movie that brought back vivid memories for me was "Chinatown." It's because I lived in that are during the film's action and, probably, because the small court where the woman is found dead in about the middle of the movie is where one of my babysitters lived. It conjured up memories of the locale which I had forgotten from childhood (hey, and my Mom confirmed that was the same court -- the street and all matched).

"American Graffiti" was, for me, a surreal and beautiful visit back to my early youth.

Or maybe it was the pint of tequila. At any rate, what an awesome flick.

St Elmos Fire reminds me of the day I found out that the guy my friend liked, actually liked me. Very bad since I also liked him. We were all hanging out and watching that movie and well, he was giving me a look and it became apparent that he wasn't interested in my friend. She hated my guts after finding out he wanted to date me not her (hey, it wasn't my fault he liked me!) and so I ended up dating him. She wasn't my friend any more so....we dated for 3 years.

Apocalypse Now reminds me of why it's never a good idea to drop acid before going to see a Copolla film.

But that's just me.

For me books, poems and music conjure up much stronger memories than films, but I can think of an example: Ofelas/The Pathfinder.

I had found myself stranded in a small provincial town in Sweden on Trettondag (January 6th), which is a holiday in Sweden (which I had totally forgotten), all the banks and the youth hostel were closed and most of the shops. I had no money (in those days not everybody carried a PIN card and ATMs were far between), but a kind hotelier let me stay overnight on a promise. I remember staring out of the window while it started snowing and the snow started to cover the statue in the park outside the window. I felt like I was part of a forties melodrama. The morning after, I cashed some money, paid my bill and, while waiting for the train to take me home, I went to see the above mentioned film.

I can't say that any film particularly stirs memories for me...well, that's not entirely true since I am sure the imagery in many a film has some meaning that may reach deep inside me and stir a feeling or two. For example a movie scene showing a crowded store during the Christmas season can stir some emotion. An autumnal setting with falling leaves can do things to me but no one movie has a hard impact upon me.