Oscar Wilde once defined memory as “the diary we all carry about with us.” In Daniel Kuriakose’s short drama “Bottles,” memory becomes a transferable commodity that can be extracted from those seeking to forget and deposited into the minds of others in need of emotional healing.
In this story, a doctor specializing in telepathic memory transfers finds his own life in flux due to painful incidents that he would prefer to forget. A chance to rid himself comes in the unlikely presence of a would-be patient that calmly pilfers one of his memories. When the memory thief returns with her own set of problems that she cannot cure, the doctor realizes he has a new depository for unloading his personal grief.
“Bottles” offers a provocative and uncommonly mature view of dealing with grief and trying to escape from one’s past. The film is handsomely produced and sharply edited, and Marcus Carr is highly effective as the troubled doctor.
What makes the film all the more remarkable is filmmaker Kuriakose’s off-screen story: he is a high school student in Connecticut. But you would never know that he is a student filmmaker when viewing “Bottles” – this looks like the work of a wise professional with a profound view of the world.
