Erased 2000
Distributed by New Day Films, 22D Hollywood Ave., Hohokus, NJ 07423; 888-367-9154
Produced by Jay Rosenstein
Director n/a
VHS, color, 4 min. 15 sec.
Jr. High - Adult
Death and Dying, Film Studies
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Oksana Dykyj, Head, Visual Media Resources, Concordia University, MontrealJay Rosenstein's short personal film is a moving tribute to his mother as her grasp of reality is ravaged by the memory loss of Alzheimer's disease. Rosenstein uses his family's home movies depicting his mother interacting with her young children while the soundtrack plays the more recent phone messages she left on his answering machine. The juxtaposition between the way she was and the way she now sounds startles the viewer.
The messages are examples of the progressive confusion she feels about her relationships with her family as she has trouble remembering what her actual relationship is to her son. Is she his mother, his cousin, his aunt, or is he is a complete stranger. At the end of each message the recorded electronic voice prompt "message erased" is heard, and it is understood that just as the message is erased, so is her voice and her memory.
The incongruity of the visuals, showing a loving young mother interacting with her children, overlapped with the sound of her more mature but less confident pleading voice, underline the loss of human communication. They also point to the fact that the only thing remaining of the past are the silent home movies and her son's memories as her voice becomes silent and her own memories are erased.
This film would be valuable as a discussion vehicle for individuals dealing with family members with Alzheimer's disease as well as for discussions in academic areas of film studies.