An elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease remembers parts of her life.

This short film takes a dramatic look into the above condition by observing the memories of a person who has the disease. The ten-minute-long film does not have much in the way of a narrative and focuses Anna (O’Hara), who has Alzheimer’s as she recalls one event of her life after the other and that is executed in a rather interesting way.

Basically, the entire film involves Anna being at an imaginary place where she is surrounded by shelves that are filled with personal objects of hers. Around her and the objects, there is darkness. Anna then proceeds to approach and interact with one object at a time, some of which are a doll, an old-fashioned telephone, a music box, a sand clock, a doll house, an old projector and television. Every object helps her remember a significant part of her life. For instance, when she touches the doll, children’s laughter is heard, indicating her childhood, when she picks up the phone, a conversation is heard, ostensibly one she took part in. Her memories are visualised when she gets to the doll house, the projector and the television, leading to memories of her husband or of herself as a child or spending time with her adult daughter (Devine) at home.

The ”place” she is in appears to represent how she feels. The fact that she is surrounded by darkness seems to indicate that apart from the objects mentioned above, everything alse is lost in the dark, because she cannot remember anything else. The objects are the memories she still has and they bring joy in her as they can help her relive happy times.

The screenplay explores Anna’s life, which (thanks to the effects the objects have on her) is revealed to be one that was well-lived, with a happy childhood, a good husband and loving parents. The script also shows the devastating effects of her condition, which causes cherished memories to fade. The main concept appears to be an individual holding onto her remaining memories before they are gone.

The filmmakers make creative uses of sound effects when Anna interacts with certain objects and are equally creative when she approaches other objects such as the television and projector, as with grainy, old foorage, the television and the projector reveal her as a child.

There is no music, apart from the song American Pie by Don McLean, which was a good choice.

This short is a dramatic commentary about Alzheimer’s disease and O’Hara’s outstanding performance vividly shows the devastating effects it has on people. From a positive perspective, it also reveals the happiness that memories bring and therefore, how valuable they are.