#SHOWBIZ: Poignant story of a son's reconciliation with his father

New Straits Times

9 hours ago

A FIRST silver screen project for director Abid Hussain, 'Memori' is a poignant tale of a strained relationship between a father and son, shaped by turbulent events of the past.
It follows a son searching for a reason to forgive, and a father gradually losing his memory to Alzheimer's disease.
Set against the stunning backdrop of Kuala Terengganu, 'Memori' is inspired by true events, involving the director and his late father.
In this story which is 90 per cent based on the story of Abid's father, a young man from Kuala Terengganu realises that his father's memory is fading.
That is when he decides to recreate stories of his father's glorious past to remind him of his loved ones and the life that he lived.
The protagonist, Imran (Singaporean Hisyam Hamid), is a son who runs away from his problems.
One day, he and his wife Rina (Diana Danielle) discover that his widowed father Dr Hassan (Datuk Hilal Azman) is suffering from memory loss.
Imran, who has not had a good relationship with Hassan, is forced to spend quality time with his father.
By constantly reminding Hassan via photo albums and videos, Imran creates in his father's mind brief, joyous moments every day that help improve their soured relationship, as well as that between Imran and his wife.
A lot of the scenes in 'Memori' involve the pristine, blue sea, the occasional waves, and the vast, sandy beaches in Kuala Terengganu.
While the director and his father never lived in Terengganu, but the Klang Valley, it is great that he chose the "eco-friendly city" in the East Coast as Imran's and Hassan's hometown, as its natural beauty remains vastly under-explored.
Veteran actor Hilal is brilliant as Hassan, and he plays a man with dementia to the most minute detail, from his messy look, his screechy voice and his child-like tantrums.
Like Hong Kong legend Thomas Ti Lung's character in 'The Kid from the Big Apple', Hassans moments of dementia may occasionally appear funny, yet they are deeply moving.
One exceptionally moving scene involves Hassan going to the beach to look for Imran whom he believes is lost at sea and almost drowning.
Fortunately, he is saved by his son's former classmate turned lifeguard and recycled items craftsman, Mamat (a hilarious but brilliant Anas Ridzuan).
In fact, all of the scenes where Hassan displays his rapidly accelerating memory loss are tear-jerkers — one minute he is happy and cheerful upon dining with his son and daughter-in-law, but in another he becomes hostile and starts throwing pillows, cushions and laundry at them.
Hisyam's Imran may be a jerk as the rebellious son and self-centred husband, but he has lots of heart at times.
This is especially so when he teaches Sam Jeganathan (Aajaay Suresh), his neighbour's son, about not running away from problems, and counting his blessings that he still has his parents with him.
Imran also shines in a scene where he quarrels with his patient and beautiful wife Rina, the one person who has worked hard to keep the family together.
That scene clearly reveals who Imran and Rina are, and the values and worldviews they hold dear.
Imran's eventual warming up to his father is very emotional.
The scene of him feeding Hassan and giving him a nice, warm shower are exceptionally painful to watch.
Diana's Rina is the true heroine of the story — she pours her heart and soul into looking after her father-in-law, as she has never known her true parents.
She is stoical and calm, when confronted by hot-headed Imran, and clearly wears her heart on her sleeve, when she lovingly hugs him after he throws a fit before her face.
The side-story of Dr Jeganathan (radio announcer Aanantha Rajaram), his wife Pushpa (Pushpa Narayan) and son Sam is pretty interesting, and it shows that every family has its fair share of problems.
This opens Imran's eyes to the reality of life and makes him realise that his father and wife are his strengths.
'Memori' may not end happily, as we all know that Hassan's health is on a downward spiral.
But as they always say, every cloud has a silver lining, and caring for his father makes Imran a better person and helps him mend his strained relationship with his wife.
MEMORI