I Remember You

It has beautiful scenery in locations seldom seen on film, but the story is too loose to develop any real tension. There's one effective jump scare, but that's it. And the confusing parallel timeline structure doesn't add anything to the drama. Best avoided.

This movie has a lot going for it. It has some truly creepy moments, very solid acting on everyone's part, moments of good scoring (despite some cliched choral passages), and a promising story line.

Unfortunately, for reasons I cannot understand, about two-thirds of the way through the script introduces a cliched, hackneyed domestic melodrama plot line which, while it does thematically connect with other aspects of the story, could have been dispensed with in favor of something less predictable and inane. I'm avoiding going into detail because I don't want to drop spoilers in case you decide to watch this movie. I myself have little patience for scripts that are inconsistent and which suffer under choices which the writer should have known were bad ones. The conclusion, while apropos of the story that precedes it, is also something we have seen time and time again in similar movies. It's frustrating to see what could have been and memorable movie become ultimately rather forgettable.

If you're hard up for a ghost story flick and you've seen everything else out there, I Remember You is probably worth a look, but it's not one that's going to be on my own re-watch list; which, for the sake of context, does include the likes of Ringu, The Ring, The Grudge (Japanese), Dark Water (Japanese), The Fog (original), The Haunting (original), The Innocents, Pulse and Retribution (both Kioshi Kurosawa), and the number of others that I watch repeatedly because they avoid most of the mistakes made by I Remember You.

Although people may approach it seeking a horror film, and despite having some paranormal elements to it, the movie is mostly a missing persons mystery. The film weaves two "main" storylines as well as two missing persons cases deftly into a film that culminates into a single picture in the end.

The characters are not really fleshed out more than they have to, which is a good thing, and the actors do a pretty good job bringing the characters to life, especially the psychiatrist.

There weren't much jump scares or purely horror scenes, and what little "scary" scenes did show up added to the atmosphere and mystery, and made sense to the plot and eventual background "mythology" of the movie. As such, this movie should be fine for people who aren't really into horror movies, if they can handle a pinch of supernatural as a part of the mythology instead it being intended purely for horror purposes.

The movie was pretty focused on the main story, and there weren't much side stories or unnecessary relationships, violence, intimate scenes, or anything that really distracted from the story for the sake of sensational viewing. The pacing was slow but steady. To be honest, it was so slow and steady that was almost beginning to suspect that the film would have disappointing ending, due to the relatively nonfluctuating levels of emotion or suspense. However, despite the the ending indeed being technically anticlimactic, I think it was indeed satisfying, resolving the main mysteries while still leaving room for thought and reflection.

I would definitely recommend this movie for anyone who likes mystery, and don't mind a teaspoon of spook in that.

I wouldn't say I Remember You is a bad movie, not at all actually, but it's probably not a movie I will watch a second time though, and that's why I just gave it a 6 out of 10. From a 7 are the movies I would watch again. The story is not bad, with enough mystery to keep you interested, but it is just a bit too slow and there are a couple things that could have used more explanation. The cast was good. I didn't know any of them and that's not a surprise since Icelandic movies are not the most common and popular, but that doesn't mean there are no good actors there. The setting is everything you expect when you think about Iceland, not much else to see than bare lands, mountains and lakes, and a cold winter atmosphere. It's all well shot. The movie is worth a watch, but to me it could have used a bit more action and horror.

The synopsis here on IMDb is not quite accurate. There are actually 2 stories happening here, and how they connect is revealed slowly, with perfect timing and a suspenseful buildup.

The first story concerns the town doctor, who is helping the police with an investigation of a woman who has died. His character spend the entire film teetering between trying to figure out this town's dark past and how it connects to some recent and frightening events, and trying to live with the torment of the loss of his son, who went missing some years earlier.

The other story is about a married couple (and her best friend) who are in town to convert an old, disused building into a bed & breakfast. There are some personal issues between the three, but the most interesting character by far is the wife. She's also experienced some trauma in her past, and it is she who suffers the strange events that happen in this story. None of what happens to her is ever seen by her husband or her friend, so we don't really know if it's real or imagined.

The town's current crimes, the renovation of the b&b, how the two narratives cross paths is revealed slowly, with suspense and satisfying scares, and is done exceedingly well.

The actors' performances were well done; not a stinker among them. And the landscape is perfect for such a tale. Desolate, cold, isolated...not just in miles, but in connection with the outside world (for example, difficulty in getting a cell phone signal). There are no cheap shots, no stunt scares. A beautiful soundtrack and gorgeous cinematography are icing on the cake of this thriller.