By Omeleto
.
.
Timothy Owen has a unique brain: he can only remember 37 things at a time. As a result, he often has a hard time recalling important things because they’re often muscled out by useless data, and his life often feels tenuous and uncertain.
He fights to hold onto his most precious memory: that of a woman named Emily, whom he loved. But as the world gets denser with information, his hold onto Emily’s memory is challenged.
Both gently satirical and melancholic at once, this short, quietly surreal comedy short — written and directed by Zane Roach — has a sci-fi premise, philosophical bent and cheeky humor. But most of all, it has a subdued recognition of the role that memory plays in our identity and happiness, and how the most important moments of our life are often the most ineffable.
Shot in both luminous black and white and expressionistic color, the film has a free-wheeling style that keeps interest constantly engaged and compelling. A sense of playfulness animates everything from the rhythms of the editing to its use of old-fashioned visual effects.
But its guiding hallmark is the well-written, witty voiceover that pulls us through the story, allowing it to traverse unusually ambitious, eccentric thematic terrain. It captures how the world is dense with information about anything and everything: celebrity culture, allergies, memories of people, slang, local news reports, road safety rules, TV shows and more.
But it also captures the difficulty of Timothy’s condition, and how Timothy must carefully curate the flow of this information into his head. Actor Scott Marcus plays both the humor and pathos of this condition, and walks the line between an almost old-fashioned clownishness and a genuinely desperate man struggling to keep his mind free of useless information. But keeping his mind uncluttered is a hard task in a world full of constant visual and informational stimulation, and he faces an uphill battle.
“37 Things” will resonate with fans of Charlie Kaufman and Terry Gilliam, both of whom also traffic in a surreal playfulness in their storytelling. It’s a fitting approach to a story about information overload and its existential costs, and it pokes great fun at the uselessness of much of the data that surrounds us. But the film also builds to a genuinely moving, thought-provoking conclusion, with both hilarity and wistfulness spanning the poles of modern existence in all its struggle and silliness.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
a human brain
but for its presence in this jar normal
in every way
capable of storing countless memories
facts feelings times places
faces
these memories can get crowded hard to
retrieve but it’s rare for the brain to
ever truly forget
but this is not the story of a normal
brain
this is the story of timothy owen
a man who could only remember
37 things
[Music]
with so little space
timothy’s memory reached its limit at a
young age
from that moment on he would only ever
know as much as he forgot
[Music]
a fun day at the beach was remembered
only briefly
replaced soon after by an episode of the
ninja turtles
which was in turn erased by a memorable
slice of pepperoni
pizza learning the shopping habits of
the kardashians caused timothy to forget
actual useful information such as the
location of his keys all knowledge of
his parents
and that he should not ingest brain
cleaner
[Music]
he became dedicated to preserving only
essential information
his name his species
what to eat what not to
the capital of iceland the second
ugandan president
periodic table of elements
[Music]
and finally
the most important thing
[Music]
it was the only memory he needed
the only one he had to keep
with much care he had preserved it
[Music]
he would never let it slip
he would never let it fade
[Music]
no matter what
[Music]
something was wrong
terribly wrong
timothy’s food was delivered once a week
always on the same day and always at the
same time
but on this occasion the delivery was
delayed after the driver saw a cloud
with an amusing shape
[Music]
[Music]
venturing outdoors was strictly
forbidden it presented a dangerous risk
of learning something
but was there an alternative
none that timothy knew
[Music]
[Music]
he’d been outside before he just
couldn’t remember when
or where
there was so much out there
so many things just waiting to be known
perhaps on this brief trip he could
learn something
maybe even something important
[Music]
[Music]
or perhaps not
focus timothy
[Music]
keep moving
a shopping center
he had no idea what that was but it
seemed as good a place as any to look
for milk
and surely if he were quick
he would encounter no useless
information
in breaking news a cloud has been
spotted in local skies shaped like you
guessed it a giant penis
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
ah
[Music]
why
[Music]
why had he come to this place
seriously
he could not remember
oh
don’t panic timothy
concentrate
hold on to it
are you okay
you’re tim right
we’ve met before
i’m emily’s friend
too many things
[Music]
[Music]
run
he no longer knew who he was
or where he had come from
continuing our round-the-clock coverage
of the penis cloud news gossip
advertising clickbait his fan lecture’s
gone bulls friends erased beer burgers
loyal babies
he had no beliefs cats sasquatch and no
wisdom to share jordan
there was just one thing he still knew
and it was the only thing he ever needed
to
[Music]
oh no
oh god no
[Music]
it was gone
it was actually gone
but not completely
unfortunately
he had forgotten language
think
where
[Music]
um
he’d also forgotten basic road safety
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
bones broken
organs crushed
nothing hurt more than the emptiness in
his soul
the place where an important thing used
to be
[Music]
he had nothing more to lose
nothing more to protect
all that was left was to experience
he may be denied the memory
but he would always feel the moment
[Music]
[Music]
this felt
important
[Music]
with little else to do
timothy looked at the sky
what he saw was a beautiful day
[Music]
and a cloud
shaped like a penis
complete with balls
[Laughter]
[Music]
and he forgot that there was ever
anything important to know
[Music]
[Music]
you
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
 |
 |
 |
 |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock
