We spend a lot of time recording good old memories for us to hold on to for a long time, but revisiting them in a different phase of our lives may give us a new perspective. Each time you see it, the moment is still true, but the truth it reveals will not always be the same.
Aftersun (2022) is a look back to a holiday that 11-year old Sophie and her young father Callum spent 20 years ago. While the mini-DV footage is playing, Grown-up Sophie relives her happiest memory with a loved one she never really knew back then.
The film does not follow a linear narrative, just showing scenes that happened much earlier or after. It takes time to build-up too, and it’s pointless to indicate the symbolisms and meanings because there are none. It all makes sense though, because just like grown-up Sophie, we’re just reliving some plain old memories that are forgotten.
I didn’t quite catch at first that grown-up Sophie was reminiscing the whole thing, not until seeing the latter parts of the film. Even if it’s just memories, I can’t help but wonder what she’s trying to achieve with this. Reliving a memory of a pubescent teenager and an adrift young father spending time together is kind of hard to watch. Both characters are trying to find their way in the world, and they couldn’t really do that together because of personal differences. The love is clearly there, but they don’t know how to fill the longing they have for each other. Despite the silences and disagreements, they’re trying to make it work by being present with each other’s company.
We’re getting a lot of astonishing debut films since 2020, and it’s nice to be present and see new names thriving and getting recognized in renowned film festivals. Director Charlotte Wells can make such quiet and mundane moments hit a bigger impact to the story. Even if each scene doesn’t match with the next, you’d still be able to understand the bigger picture. She was able to communicate with her actors the depth of their characters that even with simple glances or as the camera pans away from them, the misery and longing are shown and felt strongly. This filmmaker is clearly not playing by the book, she’s a filmmaker to watch out for.
Paul Mescal deserves the buzz on this film. Anyone can be a young father, but Paul’s portrayal showed such sensitivity and understanding of Callum. He didn’t antagonize him, and he didn’t make him look so pitiful either. Francesca Corio should be recognized here also. I wonder if she’s really 11 at the time, but she portrayed young Sophie with the exact amount of innocence and sophistication. She and Paul look so bonded together, and at the same time they both catch each other’s drift. Both actors have shown their character’s imperfect and delicate personalities without overpowering one another, and it made the film even more effective for me.
You wouldn’t even feel at first that the film is breaking your heart little by little, until you reach the ending that you can never really change. But that’s the point of reliving a memory. There’s no amount of time or device that can change it, only on how we want to perceive it at present.
You can watch Aftersun via Mubi here
