Theoreticians, futurists, and sci-fi fans will rejoice after collective immersion in the wonderfully dense "Mnemophrenia," a film that anticipates a near-term medical condition identifying the mind's inevitable blurring of truths between organically-lived experiences and those realized through ongoing exposure to virtual reality. Imagine, for example, learning that a man you knew throughout early life wasn't ever real, yet his virtual construct positively informed you to live your most fully realized existence: Would you feel total invalidation, or total gratitude? These are the types of heavy-as-an-anvil suppositions this terrifically ambitious film puts forth in what could soon become a shockingly prophetic piece of cinema.
"Mnemophrenia" isn't just philosophically sharp without the on-screen chops to back it up. This is a somewhat ingenious slab of filmmaking, cleverly crafted by deploying the camera as an all-seeing computer eye moving between a series of vignettes, all set in various future stages. The computer captures two lab techs as they debate the ethics of a large-scale mnemophrenic state in which virtual experiences aid or falsely influence (depending on which side of the debate you're on) all life experiences. Elsewhere, the camera documents a therapy session in which subjects process aloud various mnemophrenic epiphanies. In a further future, the camera serves as the mind's eye of a woman with an embedded chip in her brain, recording and interpolating her living moments until it quite literally embodies a hardware version of her true self. When she's diagnosed with a fatal illness, something resembling a downloadable, posthumous eternity is promised for both her and her partner.
This is a film presenting high-level theory with a shrewd attenuation to grass roots, solution-driven filmmaking, and it's a combination that makes for great storytelling. Turn off your phone and clear your mind going in, as "Mneophrenia" very attractively offers head candy by informing, theorizing, and challenging in equal parts. Highly recommended, and sure to provoke exhaustive water cooler debate in its aftermath. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)
