Objects and Memory (2008)

We preserve the past and speak to the future through the things we treasure and the memories they evoke. Using stories of items recovered from or offered in response to dramatic and pervasive American experiences, this film explores the human impulse to create community and reestablish connection in times of upheaval. Guided by Frank Langella's narration and set to the music of Philip Glass, the OBJECTS AND MEMORY helps viewers better understand their own thoughts, emotions, and behavior; the intangible values they hold dear; and the tangible objects that represent them. In presenting meaningful physical symbols - those that speak, those that reach out, and those that heal - and their stories, in the unusually dramatic setting of their retrieval, OBJECTS AND MEMORY explores the things we most value. Without the objects, the stories would lack vibrancy; without the stories the objects would lack significance. Taken together, the images of the objects, the stories they evoke, and the stories of their collection lead the viewer on a journey where the commonplace is transformed into the remarkable and where the stuff of history is highly personalized.