As a movie buff who has spent countless hours immersed in the celluloid world, I must say that “Memory Lane” is a breath of fresh air amidst the gloom and doom portrayed by recent films on senility and mortality. This Dutch seriocomedy, with its boisterous yet affirming tone, is a well-crafted crowdpleaser that effortlessly crosses borders, much like its protagonists’ bickering that transcends geographical boundaries.
In recent times, films dealing with senility and mortality have adopted a harshly grim and terrifying tone, as seen in notable award contenders like “Amour”, “Vortex” and “The Father”. However, this year’s Dutch entry for the Oscar international feature race adopts a more optimistic stance. Jelle de Jonge’s “Memory Lane” is a mix of humor and emotion, revolving around an elderly couple embarking on a road trip to revisit their youthful memories, possibly for the last time. A success in its native country this year, “Memory Lane” is a skillfully made film that should easily win over audiences worldwide… unlike its bickering main characters.
Jaap (Martin van Waardenberg) and Maartje (Leny Breederveld) have been married for nearly half a century, yet their golden years haven’t been as peaceful as they might have hoped. Although they enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, the two in their seventies aren’t experiencing a tranquil retirement. Jaap, often a complainer, seems to view the world as being in flames, a perspective he perpetuates by frequently watching TV news, which is inevitably filled with negative stories. He’s losing interest in activities that once brought him joy, like singing in a church choir, lamenting, “All the talented ones have left. The ones who stayed are all hard of hearing.
Maartje, however, continues to seek companionship and enjoyment, which her partner now seems unable or unwilling to offer. His pessimism is grating, and his self-centeredness is so profound that he appears oblivious to her increasing memory issues. When a worried friend brings this up, he dismisses it, stubbornly attributing her strange actions solely to annoying him. Despite his denials, these behaviors become more noticeable over time, reaching a level where they can no longer be ignored; an incident involving her being lost and requiring police assistance is one such example of this escalation.
With the feeling that time might be running short, Maartje becomes determined to see an old friend living in Spain who’s currently receiving hospice care. This friend had been part of many joyful memories for her. On the other hand, Jaap, struggling with motivation, initially doesn’t want a major trip, barely leaving his house. However, he eventually agrees, deciding they would drive together in their 30-year-old car to Barcelona. The journey is both beautiful and challenging: Maartje often gets navigation wrong, tends to confuse strangers for old friends, experiences episodes of confusion, panic, and unpredictable emotions that are reminiscent of a child’s mood swings.
In this poignant narrative, I find myself not merely witnessing a bittersweet reunion of Jaap with his long-lost loved ones, but a profound realization of his unacknowledged dependence on the partner who’s, in essence, mentally departing from him – a departure driven by forces beyond our control. While Marijn de Wit and the director skillfully construct their narrative around Maartje’s progressive dementia, the emotional journey revolves around Jaap’s gradual transformation back into his complete marital role. This transformation, masterfully portrayed by van Waardenberg, earned him the Golden Calf for Best Actor just last month. (“Memory Lane,” originally titled “De Terugreis” or “Homeward,” also won the Best Film prize.) Breederveld delivers an equally captivating performance as a spirit free at heart, whose pent-up frustrations from a life too confined by convention explode in ways we don’t expect, as she succumbs to dementia.
In my critique, I found de Jonge’s film to be briskly paced yet never rushed in its exploration of diverse tones and landscapes. It skillfully avoids feeling touristy or overbearing as it blends humor and pathos seamlessly. The end result is akin to Paul Mazursky’s “Harry and Tonto,” a nostalgic, episodic road-trip story from half a century ago.
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2024-11-27 20:46