Memories of Tomorrow (2005)

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

MEMORIES OF TOMORROW is an interesting film, in that it's a spy thriller that's best when it's not interested in being a spy thriller. Other folks here have alluded to the story, so I won't belabor those points. Personally, it's not a genre that excites me much (so add a point or two to my score if you're a fan of the genre), but Tripuraneni does a good job of crafting a solid story and it ticks along nicely enough. Where MEMORIES really shines, though, is in its building of visual sequences and editing. There's a lot of downright visionary camera-work in here (especially considering this was shot on a Panasonic DVX-100A!), and there's places where the combination of the images, cutting, and sound design transported me to another level of appreciation, rare in the world of film-making, much less in the world of digital debut features. Personally, I'd love to see this crew take on a film that's even more abstract with a less conventional plot - the poetry of the aesthetics sometimes feels like it calls attention to the more standard scriptwriting devices. (TV broadcasters spoon-feeding out important plot details or the initial setup of the romance between the two lead characters, for instance.)In sum: well worth a look, especially for those curious about pulling off effective and aesthetically interesting no-budget film-making. If my rating seems low in comparison to my comments, it's partially because I don't grade on a scale for budget (so add two points if you do) and partially because I expect films from this crew in the future that will leave this film in the shade.

We went along to the premier of Memories of Tomorrow , not sure of what to expect. All we knew is that a foreign student from the South Seas School had made this much talked about movie on a relatively low (actually 'no') budget. We had no idea that it would be such a slickly presented fare, even more so given the fact that it was made by a relative newcomer to New Zealand. One would have thought, given the excellent dialog and the choice of locations, that Amit Tripuraneni, script writer and director,had been around for ages, whereas in truth he has probably only had a chance to put his student backpack down, before being 'summoned' upon this mission! It shows to each of us, the power of the much-clichéd but true adage , 'Where there is a will...' His success is an inspiration for all budding film makers. With the movie now hitting international markets, we are confident that this brilliant piece of work (and of course the young man behind it) will go places.

As a fan of the British school of espionage films/TV, I enjoyed the "need to know" approach the film took in regards to the exact details of who was working for who. What could so easily have been corny held together well as a intriguing film. I think the director got some nice work from his cast and crew. The film looks great, has a decent soundtrack, and the actors didn't go to far in their roles - often actors can get carried away with an action/thriller film. They can forget that for the characters involved the rough and tumble violence is just part of the job. A professional doesn't feel the need to show off, they just get the job done and try and stay alive.For an imaginative thriller you can't go wrong giving this a try.

Amit Tripuraneni's debut feature, the intriguing mystery thriller Memories of Tomorrow featured at the New Zealand Asian FILM FESTIVAL AOTEAROA 2005. John (Richard Thompson) and Tanya (Rachel Gilchrist) are a happy couple who seem to have it all: he's a writer, she's an artist, and they have the idyllic home, cars, boat, and love each other deeply. The only problem is John can't remember his past: a secret which comes back to haunt them when a mysterious stranger, Roger (Ray Trickitt), arrives and drags Tanya back into a world she thought they had left behind. As their dream life rapidly goes haywire John and Tanya have to reprise latent skills as they fight to extricate themselves from a very confused and messy situation. Shot in and around Auckland on DOP Lance Wordsworth's digital Panasonic DVX100a most of the film uses existing locations and natural lighting and props in the Dogme 95 style adopted by filmmakers like Lars von Trier (Idioterne – The Idiots –1995) and rather than being paid everyone worked on equity which kept the budget to an incredibly low $15,000 and dollar for dollar Tripuraneni's privately funded debut feature is light years ahead of Geoff Murphy's Spooked. Tripuraneni has done an amazing job with limited resources and I strongly recommend Memories of Tomorrow.