Before I Forget (Tiago Arakilian, 2017): Brazil

Reviewed by Thomas J Miller.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2018.

Before I Forget is the story of a broken family looking for meaningful changes in their lives.  The colors of life have faded for all three family members and they are not at all connected in spirit or desire. The family patriarch, Polidero has recently retired from his straight-laced, boring life as a judge.  His days are routinely spent watching internet pornography and on occasion visiting a local strip club that is on the verge of closing their doors.  Polidero experiences memory loss, and feels his life fading into the shadows,

Polidero’s daughter has brought legal action to have Polidero committed to supervised care “for his own good” which leads us on a hilarious court case that has more twists and turns than a game of snakes and ladders.

Polidero’s son has decided to make a career change from his extremely boring role as a Tympani soloist in the local orchestra.  The two notes he is given to perform in the concert have driven him to reassess his life and pursue his passion to become a concert pianist.  A dear friend will tutor him, ONLY, on the condition he train on his father’s spectacular grand piano.

The grand piano has taken new residency in the strip club that Polidero has decided to invest in and the only way the keys will ever be tickled by the son, is if he agrees to perform classical music pieces at the strip club.  Polidero befriends the barmaid at the club, who lives every color of the rainbow to the fullest.  Her zany character is the spark that keeps Polidero energized and renewed in his new role as Andrew Lloyd Polidero in Copa Land.

Polidero invites his senior comrades to enjoy an evening of classical music with burlesque strip tease and the combination this odd movement creates is an instant success as it transcends the Old Boys Club to younger days and times.

Polidero slips deeper into his Alzheimer condition and it is now clear to all parties he must be under complete supervision all the time.  The story reaches its crescendo as the attorney in charge of the court case seduces Polidero’s son, Polidero takes a seminude stroll through town, the son reaches out to regain the father he has missed for so many years, and the Cubs win the pennant.  Again!

The film is charming, the storyline is solid, and the actors are extremely good in their roles.