Movies

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The mysteries of the priesthood are cunningly examined in Saverio Costanzo`s film. In telling the story of a young man who decides to join the ascetic life of a religious order, Costanzo opts not for a form of documentary realism, but chooses instead to probe the spiritual realm into which his protagonist is propelled. Entering a monastery demands a great degree of self-examination, and Costanzo is determined to do full justice to this moment of apparent self-sacrifice.
Constanzo explores questions that have as much to do with spirituality and the unknowable as with issues of denial. Andrea is a serious young novitiate who has decided on this path in order “to become a person.” The Father Superior warns him that the life of a priest is not for everyone; the first months will reveal both to the seminary and to Andrea whether this is indeed his true vocation. A determined and committed Andrea happily joins in the rituals of the monastery. Days are spent in silence, meditating and doing simple chores. The ordered life of a monk imposes structure and the time to reflect. But tensions surface as doubts begin to creep into Andrea’s mind and those of some of the other novitiates, leading to a gnawing sense of emptiness and frustration. What, he wonders, is the true path to enlightenment?
In Memory of Myself is interested in much more than the surface reality of the monastic life. As the camera prowls down the ordered, silent corridors of the monastery, we find that behind the closed doors of each priest’s sanctuary lies a more confused and restless sense of the world. Andrea observes as this highly structured universe comes under increasing scrutiny by men grappling with existential questions – until he too is forced to contend with the essential question of whether he belongs here or not.
                                                                       Piers Handling

2 awards of Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists – for editing and sound, 2007