(Picture from https://www.theartsshelf.com/2019/07/24/curzon-presents-the-uk-poster-trailer-for-joanna-hoggs-the-souvenir/)
As suggested by its Chinese name "我們的相愛時光", the film The Souvenir tells a love story, though not the kind common among feature movies.
Initially, the encounter between Julie, the young film student, and Anthony, a man who is years her senior, seems to prepare the audiences for a poetic romance, the hint being a classical portrait of an elegant lady in love, which actually appears twice in the film. And it is interesting how the two share a bed with a few toys symbolizing the border between them, thus implying their pure friendship.
When the man comes back from Paris with a souvenir, the film takes an unexpected turn: the few brief sex scenes that follow somehow imply that they gradually get entangled in a lusty relationship. Over time, the relationship is threatened on the discovery of the man’s drug addiction, causing the woman to fall into an abyss of misery from which there is no escape. The tragic story then drags on with no surprises until it comes to an abrupt ending.
The film could have achieved brevity and persuasiveness with the removal of a few unnecessary scenes. For example, the scene of the nude man she smiles at in her bedroom is repulsive though it somehow serves to disclose her need for sexual satisfaction to overcome her sadness about the loss of her lover. In fact, this is by no means consistent with her natural artistic charm. Then there is the scene at which she finds herself face to face with a strange man when she comes home one day. How did the man come to be in her house and what was he doing there? If this is meant to show Anthony’s bad company because of his drug addition, it does not serve the purpose. In addition, the slight touch on politics and his instructor’s advice does little to enhance the film’s dramatic appeal.
Conversely, I greatly appreciate the role Julie’s mother plays in the film. In spite of her rare appearances, she makes a great impression on the audiences with her elegant, refined manners and her concealed worry about her daughter’s shattered dreams. The way she puts Julie to bed as if she were still an infant touches our hearts. We feel the sorrow of a loving mother who can do nothing to soothe her daughter’s pain.
On the whole, instead of a romantic film, I would see The Souvenir as a sad story with a warning against falling in love with the wrong man.
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