The film ‘The Father’ poses profound philosophical questions about identity, selfhood, and human existence through the confusion of memory and distortion of time caused by dementia, depicting a story that explores the changing self and identity brought about by dementia.
The film unfolds from the perspective of Anthony, an elderly father experiencing dementia, employing a nonlinear narrative structure that blurs the boundaries between reality and hallucination. It realistically and movingly portrays the difficulties of dementia and aging, along with the confusion surrounding family relationships, environment, and identity, leaving a profound resonance with the audience. Throughout, Anthony’s temporal experience remains ill-defined. As past memories and present perceptions intertwine, he struggles to comprehend his own existence and surroundings. The director conveys this experience to the audience through Anthony’s perspective, immersing them in his distorted perception of time and the clash between reality and perception, making his inner turmoil palpable.
Crucially, the film reveals that Anthony’s confusion of memory and fragmentation of time are not merely symptoms of dementia, but rather demonstrate how inherently incomplete and fragile human perception and memory truly are. This profoundly deepens the audience’s understanding of the profound impact aging and dementia have on an individual’s life and identity. Moreover, by depicting the intersection of reality and memory, the film emotionally emphasizes Anthony’s internal conflict and dissonance with the external world. It portrays the complex emotions and realities of loss, isolation, difficulties in communicating with family, and aging in later life. This intricate emotional thread conveys the film’s themes with greater depth, prompting viewers to reflect on their own identity and the meaning of existence.
I believe this film poses philosophical questions to the audience about the complexity and dilemmas of dementia and aging, the relationship between memory and identity, and existence and the self. Should the memory loss and temporal confusion caused by dementia be seen merely as identity confusion and isolation? According to Bergson’s philosophy, ‘pure duration’ signifies the true experience of time captured by intuition, distinct from the ordinary concept of time. It refers to a subjective, psychological reality, where this world of pure duration is seen as the true self and the very realm of free personality. It also emphasizes that past, present, and future are not precisely distinct; past emotions and present thoughts about the future can become intertwined. Bergson termed this characteristic of time ‘duration,’ viewing true time as living, moving, internally changing, and creative. Then, according to Bergson’s perspective, could Anthony’s state—where present and past coexist in confusion due to dementia—and the fragments of time be seen as an internally changing, flowing, continuous experience? Furthermore, if the time experience captured by intuition is the true self, then from the perspective of pure duration, could the experiences and changes Anthony undergoes in the realm of self and personality be seen as a process of seeking the true self and a free personality?
However, this philosophy and these questions directly contradict the perspective that the continuity of memory forms identity. According to this view, memory plays a crucial role in shaping an individual’s uniqueness and identity, no less than physical appearance, through the formation of one’s own tastes and values, expansion through cognition and appreciation of various events based on them, and knowledge and interrelationships. In other words, identity is formed through memories of past everyday experiences, interactions with others, and cultural influences. Past memories influence present actions, choices, and beliefs, enabling individuals to maintain a continuous sense of identity. From this perspective, dementia causes past memories to lose consistency due to memory loss and confusion, making it difficult to maintain the present self and future direction. Therefore, the identity before dementia and the identity after dementia are not the same, and they cannot be considered the same individual.
These concerns and questions are closely related to philosophical discussions such as John Locke’s tabula rasa theory on how identity is formed and how the self or the existence of ‘I’ is realized, as well as Freud’s unconscious psychological processes. However, beyond this, the changes in identity that emerge in situations like dementia further complicate philosophical understandings of the self and existence. Thus, the film can be seen as offering profound reflection on the essence and meaning of humanity.
