Program Note
Finnish author Emmi Itäranta’s same titled novel has been brought to the screen. In a future society, where the military controls water due to severe scarcity, Noria discovers a secret clue in her father’s bequest: he was a “Tea Master”, soothing the thirst of people’s bodies and minds. Amidst strict military surveillance, her gaze lingers on the people suffering and oppressed by the water shortage and the military dictatorship. Today, the crisis of climate change becomes increasingly precarious with each passing season. The sense of urgency this film conveys cannot be viewed as just a scene from a science fiction movie, and this heightens the tension. What can truly be done with this secret? As Noria delves deeper into this dilemma, she must answer the question of “whether people will only clash more or help each other in the face of this secret”. Memory of Water asks us all what kind of hope we can extend. (Rhana JANG)