"Memoria" begins with a bump in the night, or very early in the morning. We are in a darkened room, with just enough light peeking in to reveal the figure of a woman as she's jolted awake by a loud noise "a rumble from the core of the Earth," as she'll later describe it. She sits up in bed, listening intently and scanning the shadows for the source of this disturbance. Is it a construction crew getting off to an early start? (It is not.) What exactly is this sound and why does it haunt her so, apart from her growing realization that she may be the only one who can hear it?
Tilda Swinton is haunted by a mysterious sound in the otherwise quiet and meditative "Memoria," the evocative new drama from director, writer and producer Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This is Weerasethakul's first movie made outside his native Thailand, but those familiar with his work will almost instantly notice his distinct style of storytelling.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria (2021) is the kind of film where, if you were to duck to the bathroom for a few minutes during its 136 minute run time…