The film Mémorable uses stop-motion animation to portray a man's experience with Alzheimer's disease. Through surreal visuals, we see him slowly lose his memory and his grasp on reality, which strains his relationship with his wife. His character and the world around him become increasingly abstract and unrecognizable as the disease progresses. Though he loses awareness of nearly everything else, his deep love for his wife is the last thing to remain clear in his mind.

1. Critical Analysis and Deconstruction
of
a Pre-existing Short Film
By Adam Kalabiska
A Level Media Studies

2. Introduction
In order to accomplish the desired depth and quality of my A
level media studies main task, I have decided to critically
analyse and deconstruct an existing short film. My focus will be
directed towards analysing specific elements and further
familiarizing myself with the codes and conventions of short film
making. Looking further, this should hopefully serve as valuable
knowledge which I may later implement during the creation of
my own work.

3. Mémorable
2019
Mémorable is a French short animated film, both
directed and written by Bruno Collet.
Film Synopsis
The film paints a profound and authentic portrait of a
man with Alzheimer disease, drop by drop, slowly
losing his memory. Through surreal and abstract
visual elements and sequences, we see how this
complicates not only his everyday life, but mainly the
relationship with his wife, which is at the very
emotional centre of the entire story. Portraying at
times a terrifying image as what may seem surreal to
us slowly becomes the painful reality for others.

4. Film Biography
The idea for this film itself originally came to Bruno Collet when seeing the inspiring story behind the
paintings of William Utermohlen, an American painter who kept working throughout his Alzheimer
disease diagnosis, all the way until his death in 2007. The film is created using stop motion
animation, which is a very meticulous process, requiring not only a never ending amount of patience,
but not to mention a lot of planning during the pre-production stage as well.
Awards recognition:
• Best Animated short film – 2020 Academy
Awards (nominee)
• Tallin Black Nights Film Festival, 2020 and
2019
• Seville European Film Festival, 2020
• Received the Audience Award, Junior Jury
Award and the Cristal for best short film at
the Annecy International Film Festival

5. Title sequence
The very first image that we, as audience, witness is quite unrecognizable. The camera slowly looms over
a surface with a mysterious texture, as the credits (in sans serif font) slowly fade in and out within the
corners of the frame. We are then introduced to the title of the short film alongside the realisation that
everything presented up until this point was a painting, confirmed by a brush with white paint, followed by
a Medium shot of the lead character. The sequence is additionally accompanied by an almost magical
score (composed by Nicolas Martin), establishing the sort of trans-dimensional atmosphere of the film.

6. Character
The opening scene is a great place to start when analysing each character’s
personality traits and their relationship, which is being constantly challenged by the
events that occur throughout the story. The lead character, of a painter with alzhaimer,
is established to be a kind intentioned man, with a sense of humor, directly
contradicting out expectation of a person and their behaviour in their position. On the
other hand, once again through simple and effective dialogue, we learn that his wife is
a loving and caring individual, which is deeply troubled by his state of mind and at
times frustrated by his non-serious approach towards it / lack of realisation. Yet she
manages to retain a patient attitude towards her husband.
We see that as his mental state continues to deteriorate at a rapid pace as the story
progresses, this is reflected by different stages of his visual style. At first, the clay
composing of his figure is clear and relatively smooth textured, matching the style of
his wife and things around him. Steadily, this style begins change, eventually reaching
a point where it’s barely recognisable. Serving as a symbolic reflection of this painful
process.

8. Editing
The post production editing stage is, in my opinion, of extreme importance as it’s
there where you begin to form the actual shape of the film. Same can be said
about this film, as though other aspects of the film, such as production design and
voice acting play a relevant role in telling the story, it is the editing that helps
further emphasis his mental struggle. This is done either through point our
attention to key visual elements through cuts, or smart transitions between
sometimes completely different shots. The implementation of a sound bridge is
used to smoothen the transition between shots.
At one point during the story, a scene seems to progress in a linear way, but then
through the usage of graphically similar shots leaves what is happening and
when, as we lose track of time. Rhythmically and spatially, we feel as this should
be the same moment, but we are mistaken. A mere few seconds in the film, turn
out to be an entire week in their world. It’s an excellent example of editing being
used to but the audience into the shoes and mind of the lead character.

9. The fan / gun  transition to dinner (match on action)
From conversation  cut to black, opens window

10. Story
Though the story follows a linear narrative structure, that’s where the “normality” ends, as the
film is otherwise filled with twists and turns, most commonly reinforced by surreal visual
elements. As the story progresses, the character is slowly but surely loosing grasp of reality, as
his mind deteriorates. Besides the previously mentioned shift in his own artstyle, the world
around him begins to change as well. First to go are everyday objects, furniture, daily utensils,
they begin to warp and change to unrecognisable proportions. This is subsequently followed by
people, who lose their realism and their appearances resemble abstract paintings more than
anything else. This explores the interconnectedness of art and life in ones mind, the influence
that the visual image has and the power to evoke a powerful emotional response.

12. Gunshot
This scene serves as a sort of climax, at first atleast, leading us to believe that contrary to his still
positive and humorous attitude, he has reached an end point, reading the take his own life. The
white color, which is a color usually associated with purity, is now extremely jarring due to it being
a direct contrast with everything presented up until this point. Even though it ends up being just
another one of his visions, it serves as a reminder that he can't escape his suffering. The same
song from a previous scene plays in the background, but not only is it non-diegetic now, it’s
reverbed, which gives a mystical and sad vibe. Perhaps an allegory for life as a whole.

13. Mis-en-scene
Mis-En-Scene refers to the placement of actors and scenery on a stage for either a theatrical, film
or television production. There is a visible connection to be found between certain shots, without
being connected by a transition. The meaning is conveyed through visual means, mainly
composition, color and music. Three essential elements of any scene, but ones that uplift the
meaning of each individual shot to a higher, more profound level. Elements established at the
beginning, make a later appearance, allowing for a comparison of how things have evolved
narrative wise, without having to say a single line of dialogue.

15. The End
As previously mentioned, throughout the story, the lead character’s loss of memory is portrayed by the
presentation of slowly disintegrating, warping visuals. By the and, he is eventually left in an empty void,
flooded in his last efforts to regain some sort of awareness, in the form of color sticky notes, now no
longer attached to anything. His visual appearance is now simpler than ever, composed of simple strokes
of clay. The only thing that has remained clear until the very end is his wife, someone who he has spent
the most time with and who holds a deep emotional place in his heart. Heartbreak strikes, when he is
suddenly no longer able to recognise even her, mistaking her for someone else. His early stage portrait of
her symbolises what is a left of her in his mind, only a couple of remaining strokes of paint.
They begin to dance, reinforcing the one thing that was clear from the very beginning and remained until
the very end, their strong emotional connection and love for one and other.
“Don’t let go”, she tells him as they dance, “Don’t worry” he replies in a joking and joyful manner, but it’s
already too late. Just like everything else, she disolves into small droplets of paint, floating away,
disappearing into the abyss,… just like his last memory.