ETERNAL MEMORY, THE

(director/writer:Maite Alberdi; cinematographer: Pablo Valdés; editor: Carolina Siraqyan; music: Miguel Miranda, José Miguel Tobar; cast: Augusto Góngora, Paulina Urrutia; Runtime: 85; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Maite Alberdi, Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue; Chicken and Egg Pictures; 2023-Chile-in Spanish with English subtitles)

“It’s a brilliantly done film but takes a lot emotionally out of the viewer.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Chilean director Maite Alberdi (“The Mole Agent”/”The Grown-Ups”) filmed this love story with a small crew over a period of four years, getting complete access to the couple’s tragic story.

The human interest documentary paints a loving portrait of the long-living together Chilean couple of Paulina Urrutia and Augusto Góngora, that now has him with Alzheimer’s disease and unable to recognize his wife as she shaves, washes, dresses and feeds him.

Paulina is a former politician and actor, while Augusto was a journalist and filmmaker.

Things become even more difficult with the house confinement when COVID19 hits. While Paulina continues filming the documentary when the crew is unavailable.

It’s a brilliantly done film but takes a lot emotionally out of the viewer. Thankfully it injects scenes before he was ill and shows them having fun and how he played an important role as a journalist in bringing down Pinochet’s dictatorship.

It won the World Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

REVIEWED ON 2/25/2023  GRADE: B