The Plot: In this documentary, the artist Asbestos documents his mother’s decline from Alzheimer’s. She’s gradually losing her memory and thereby, her ability to function from day-to-day. He watches on, unable to halt what’s coming but keen to do something about it. He channels his thoughts and feelings into his art as a way of coping and understanding, while always maintaining his love for his mother…
The Verdict: Memory is an essential part of the human experience. Some might say it’s a curse, while others might say it’s a blessing. Whatever one might think, it defines who we are. However, it’s also a fragile thing and is subject to the ravages of time. Even more severe though is the devastating impact of Alzheimer’s disease, which causes a gradual decline in memory, behaviour and social skills. It can be agonising to watch a loved one slipping away one day at a time while still very much alive. The Dublin artist known as Asbestos has first-hand experience of this with his mother and has channelled that experience into his artwork. That then has been channelled into Don’t Forget To Remember, a documentary which tackles the quietly devastating impact of Alzheimer’s from a creative perspective.
Ross Killeen’s follow-up to his superb Damien Dempsey-focused music and mental health documentary Love Yourself Today is similarly focused on the mind. Mind over matter as the saying goes, but this time the mind is the matter. His new film is a quieter, more low-key affair befitting the effects of Alzheimer’s on the mind. It has an impressionistic quality to it, composed of interviews with Asbestos, his mother and father, footage on the streets of the artist at work, archive footage and interestingly, a scrapbook-type collage of images assembled to show the collective experience of his family’s memories. As Asbestos points out though, losing your memory is like watching a bullet in slo-mo for years, coming towards you and you can’t avoid it. How does one process this sort-of living death, while still holding onto the love between family members?
Killeen doesn’t shy away from showing the more difficult, heart-breaking moments like Asbestos’ mother Helena unable to draw the face of a clock or remember which day or month it is. Where the film gains strength though is the way that Asbestos puts blackboards with chalk paintings of Helena out in public, allowing people to alter them or the rain to wash them away – understanding through art and an acceptance that all things must pass. It’s directed in an uncomplicated manner by Killeen, simply allowing the camera to observe everyday interactions becoming more difficult for Helena while Asbestos and his father do what they can. The film is just a bit vague and airy as a result, lacking a stronger narrative and the truly emotional gut punch that one might expect from a story of this kind, which sadly affects so many families with aging parents. There’s still much to admire here though, from its artistic delivery to its closing line about the power of one particular emotion. Worth remembering.
Rating: 3 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: Worth remembering
Directed by Ross Killeen.