The ETERNAL MEMORY-Doc.Too Personal for Mainstream Appeal

The very personal documentary film, "The Eternal Memory" covers a Chilean couple, Augusto and Paulina, both quite well-known in their home country.  Augusto, a former journalist who gained notoriety covering the political turmoil during Pinochet's dictatorship and Paulina, an accomplished actress and Cultural Minister. The footage spans their separate careers and their 25 years of marriage.  Augusto has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease which gives the film its center and surveys the bonds of love the two have sustained while adjusting to the strains of the disease. I found this film tried too hard to depict a poignant love story which is too often too personal, too intrusive and Augusto's benign personal and faulty memory, sadly pathetic.  A majority of time is filmed in the bedroom, with Augusto prone and Paulina providing him company.  The archival film of their earlier years shows a handsome couple, prominent in their careers and building their dream home. Sadly, their dream home is now, more or less, a confining castle in which Augusto is still able to navigate and be well-cared for. There's a scene of the couple taking a leisurely, hand-in-hand stroll which I found to feel staged. Paulina is still active in theatrical productions.  A very choreographed number shows Paulina rehearsing with the ensemble and the inclusion of Augusto dancing to his own-beat.  Some may find this sweet, I found it rather debasing.  True, Augusto appears happy and included.  But, let's not be deluded. Augusto's Alzheimer's disease has progressed to the point where he is no longer able to care for himself, and each morning is like ground-hog's day revisited. Paulina reintroduces herself and reminds him who he is, that they are married and that they' re in their shared bedroom.  The ETERNAL MEMORY is a self-indulgent exercise that doesn't fly in Peoria or outta Chile or the family's personal archive.  I wish Paulina and Augusto all the best. I  know this film was well intentioned but it misses the mark intended for mainstream viewing.