5 ms·

> he wakes up every morning believing he is still in Germany in 2005, waiting to visit the dentist That’s some real-life eternal Groundhog Day stuff right ther

> he wakes up every morning believing he is still in Germany in 2005, waiting to visit the dentist That’s some real-life eternal Groundhog Day stuff right there. Hellish :( > Today, he only knows that there is a problem because he and his wife have written detailed notes on his smartphone, in a file labelled “First thing – read this”. This is more positive, and reminds me of the movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler. Also, am glad to hear he has someone in his life that is by his side.

the_af 6y ago
It could also remind you of Memento, though that brings you back to "hellish" ;)
- bmlzootown 6y ago
  50 First Dates... Much more fitting comparison, at least in terms of waking up to the "same" day over and over (as she too had some sort of amnesia).
  - the_af 6y ago
    To be fair, I haven't watched 50 First Dates so you might be right! In Memento, Leonard also wakes up each day to the "same" day because he (arguably) has anterograde amnesia and cannot form new memories. He keeps tracks of new developments he wants to remember by writing on his own body and on the backs of polaroids (a bit like writing a note with his smartphone! Memento was filmed in 2000, and smartphones didn't exist yet).
    - paranoidrobot 6y ago
      50 First dates is the more romantic story about a guy who meets a girl who has ~~ante-rograde amnesia~~. e: I forgot, in the movie she has a fictitious disease that's sort of like ante-retrograde amnesia, but wipes her memory when she sleeps.
    - wernercd 6y ago
      I'm the reverse... I haven't seen memento. I think the main difference sounds like... is 50 first dates involves someone else writing things down and using a VCR for when the Amnesia victim wakes up. Friends, family do the "heavy lifting". Sounds like Memento is self descriptions? Doesn't sound like there's anyone else to write things down for him. Memento was 2000. 50 first dates was 2004. So they are more comparable than someone with a smartphone - obviously. But it sounds like the smart phone plot item is more of a twist on doing stuff for yourself - IE Memento.
      - the_af 6y ago
        Yes, in Memento the main character leaves notes for himself, because he wakes up each day with no new memories since his "accident", but he is trying to solve a crime! Whether the notes and the character's understanding of his situation are accurate is the main gist of the movie (and as its tagline says: "some memories are best forgotten"). I can't recommend it enough: it's a great movie with some excellent acting, and it manages to be both cerebral and emotional.
        bena 6y ago
        In Memento, Leonard doesn't lose his memory when he goes to sleep, he just can't form long term memories. This affects his whole day, Leonard can start a task or conversation and not remember starting it by the time he gets to the end. There's a scene that starts with Leonard in a hotel room, sitting on a closed toilet, fully clothed, with a bottle of alcohol in his hands. He wonders why is he sitting there and if he's drunk. He then takes a shower. Because he doesn't know why he's in the hotel, he doesn't know why he's in the bathroom, etc. He literally forgot he broke into the room to ambush a guy as he was doing it. Whereas in 50 First Dates, it is how you described. Lucy replays the same day, she resets when she sleeps. But during the day, she can recall what happens. She can tell you what she had for breakfast, where she got her pineapple, who she met, etc.
        the_af 6y ago
        You're right, Leonard has it worse: he doesn't just reset his day, he keeps resetting his last few minutes! Sorry I was unclear. That scene you describe is brilliant, I still remember the monologue: "I don't... feel drunk".
delecti 6y ago
How does he know to look at his smartphone? How does he know how to look at his smartphone? My phone in 2005 was a flip-phone and I wouldn't have even known how to put notes in it.
- refurb 6y ago
  If you start digging into amnesia, you start to see some really weird things about which memories are retained versus those lost. Short term versus long term memories is one distinction (and seems intuitive), but you'll see things like selective long term memory loss - they might forget where they've lived for 10 years, but remember people they met back then. It's really fascinating as it gives some insights into how memory is organized and stored within the brain. Things that you'd imagine are processed the same (what your home looks like versus your spouse's face), are actually very different memories and handled in different parts of the brain.
- emteycz 6y ago
  There were devices alike smartphones in 2005. Pretty popular in Germany too. Maybe he had one of these, or just has a dumb phone (most had note taking abilities and calendars and notifications) but the editor changed it? Sony Ericsson had some very powerful phones, and Nokia too, both very popular back then. You could even run apps (J2ME), I had one for public transit schedules and one for school grades and timetables. This one was wildly popular in Europe, earlier models had similar functionalities: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_K750 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_K750
munificent 6y ago
> Also, am glad to hear he has someone in his life that is by his side. Hard to decide who has it more hellishly. Can you imagine having a partner who will forget every single new experience you ever share together. Can you even be said to have a relationship in any meaningful sense then?
OpticalWindows 6y ago
I'm more surprised he can navigate a smart phone with memory from 2005

the_af 6y ago

It could also remind you of Memento, though that brings you back to "hellish" ;)

bmlzootown 6y ago
50 First Dates... Much more fitting comparison, at least in terms of waking up to the "same" day over and over (as she too had some sort of amnesia).
- the_af 6y ago
  To be fair, I haven't watched 50 First Dates so you might be right! In Memento, Leonard also wakes up each day to the "same" day because he (arguably) has anterograde amnesia and cannot form new memories. He keeps tracks of new developments he wants to remember by writing on his own body and on the backs of polaroids (a bit like writing a note with his smartphone! Memento was filmed in 2000, and smartphones didn't exist yet).
  - paranoidrobot 6y ago
    50 First dates is the more romantic story about a guy who meets a girl who has ~~ante-rograde amnesia~~. e: I forgot, in the movie she has a fictitious disease that's sort of like ante-retrograde amnesia, but wipes her memory when she sleeps.
  - wernercd 6y ago
    I'm the reverse... I haven't seen memento. I think the main difference sounds like... is 50 first dates involves someone else writing things down and using a VCR for when the Amnesia victim wakes up. Friends, family do the "heavy lifting". Sounds like Memento is self descriptions? Doesn't sound like there's anyone else to write things down for him. Memento was 2000. 50 first dates was 2004. So they are more comparable than someone with a smartphone - obviously. But it sounds like the smart phone plot item is more of a twist on doing stuff for yourself - IE Memento.
    - the_af 6y ago
      Yes, in Memento the main character leaves notes for himself, because he wakes up each day with no new memories since his "accident", but he is trying to solve a crime! Whether the notes and the character's understanding of his situation are accurate is the main gist of the movie (and as its tagline says: "some memories are best forgotten"). I can't recommend it enough: it's a great movie with some excellent acting, and it manages to be both cerebral and emotional.
      - bena 6y ago
        In Memento, Leonard doesn't lose his memory when he goes to sleep, he just can't form long term memories. This affects his whole day, Leonard can start a task or conversation and not remember starting it by the time he gets to the end. There's a scene that starts with Leonard in a hotel room, sitting on a closed toilet, fully clothed, with a bottle of alcohol in his hands. He wonders why is he sitting there and if he's drunk. He then takes a shower. Because he doesn't know why he's in the hotel, he doesn't know why he's in the bathroom, etc. He literally forgot he broke into the room to ambush a guy as he was doing it. Whereas in 50 First Dates, it is how you described. Lucy replays the same day, she resets when she sleeps. But during the day, she can recall what happens. She can tell you what she had for breakfast, where she got her pineapple, who she met, etc.
        the_af 6y ago
        You're right, Leonard has it worse: he doesn't just reset his day, he keeps resetting his last few minutes! Sorry I was unclear. That scene you describe is brilliant, I still remember the monologue: "I don't... feel drunk".

delecti 6y ago

How does he know to look at his smartphone? How does he know how to look at his smartphone? My phone in 2005 was a flip-phone and I wouldn't have even known how to put notes in it.

refurb 6y ago
If you start digging into amnesia, you start to see some really weird things about which memories are retained versus those lost. Short term versus long term memories is one distinction (and seems intuitive), but you'll see things like selective long term memory loss - they might forget where they've lived for 10 years, but remember people they met back then. It's really fascinating as it gives some insights into how memory is organized and stored within the brain. Things that you'd imagine are processed the same (what your home looks like versus your spouse's face), are actually very different memories and handled in different parts of the brain.
emteycz 6y ago
There were devices alike smartphones in 2005. Pretty popular in Germany too. Maybe he had one of these, or just has a dumb phone (most had note taking abilities and calendars and notifications) but the editor changed it? Sony Ericsson had some very powerful phones, and Nokia too, both very popular back then. You could even run apps (J2ME), I had one for public transit schedules and one for school grades and timetables. This one was wildly popular in Europe, earlier models had similar functionalities: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_K750 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_K750

munificent 6y ago

> Also, am glad to hear he has someone in his life that is by his side. Hard to decide who has it more hellishly. Can you imagine having a partner who will forget every single new experience you ever share together. Can you even be said to have a relationship in any meaningful sense then?

OpticalWindows 6y ago

I'm more surprised he can navigate a smart phone with memory from 2005