Review of Syndromes and a Century (2006) by Lauren J — 09 Feb 2008

Syndromes is an abstract and impeccably composed movie meant to evoke emotions and memories. I went into this film knowing very little about it, but realized later that I had seen another film by this director called Mysterious Object at Noon (also very slow-paced, abstract, and hypnotic).

What starts out as an awkward love story becomes a baffling mirror of two similar narratives (or are they the same narrative filtered through different minds?) in two different settings. Conversations are repeated in a rural clinic and later a metropolitan hospital with sometimes subtle and sometimes radical changes in tone and language.

I loved the contrast between the warmer green atmosphere of the first half and the cold, sterile whiteness of the second half. I also loved the humor sprinkled throughout (especially the singing dentist).

The ending is a bit of an enigma in relation to the rest of the movie but I suppose it is fitting for this slow-burning maze of a film. While this movie may induce sleep with its quiet, reflective pace (don't make the mistake I did and start it before bed time), it is a refreshing change of pace from other films I have watched recently.