Buckland-Warren-Puzzle-Films-Complex-Storytelling-Contemporary-Cinema

92 Stefano GhislottiBW1–BW22Motel room (Leonard alone, phone calls, Teddy)BW22–C1Derelict building (Jimmy, Teddy)C2Tattoo shop (Teddy)C3–C4Ferdy’s bar (Natalie -1-; 2 segments)C5–C6–C7Natalie’s (1) (3 segments)C8Jaguar (Teddy)C9–C10 Discount Inn (hooker; 2 segments) [1st night]C11Industrial area. Fire, Leonard aloneC12–C13City street (Dodd; 2 segments)C13–C14–C15Dodd’s (Dodd, Teddy; 3 segments)C16–C17 Natalie’s (2) (2 segments) [2nd night]C18Diner (Teddy)C19Discount Inn (Burt)C19–C20City Grill (Natalie -2-; 2 segments, one with L. alone)C21–C22Discount Inn (L. alone, Burt, Teddy; 2 segments)C22–C23Derelict building (Teddy; 2 segments)BW = black & white; C = color, with corresponding scene numberFigure 4.1Chronology of the movie Mementowith Memento is another element: the particularity of film form. We willconsider it by examining the original version of the film.Guess the StoryMemento’s composition is arresting because of its elaborate structure,which presents a clever mix of chronological narration and reversed temporality.As an effect of this kind of composition, the main character’s memorydisease is directly perceptible to the viewers, who share with him thedifficulty of providing a coherent account of the story. While watching theoriginal version of Memento, we do not find it difficult to place the narrativeelements into a coherent structure, but we feel a sense of difficultyin using our own memory. When recalling a part of the film, we are notable to place a fact after another, because we cannot remember whether itwas before or after, whether we should place it in the structure of the filmor in the film’s fabula. For this reason the mental work we do while watchingthe film is a very interesting subject. The initial parts of Memento requirethe viewer to construct a specific schema, to comprehend the way in