Series/Festivals

Momento Mori (Remember the Dead) (unrated) Kim Tae-Yong and Min Kyu-Dong. Set in a contemporary South Korean girls' school, Momento Mori's disjointed narrative coheres thematically in its multifaceted, frank depiction of teenage behavior and the emotional distress involved. The supernatural occurrences within the plot propel the cliques, gossip, belittling and sexual insecurity into the realm of psychokinesis and telepathy. Seventeen-year-old Min-ah's discovery of fellow student Hyo-Shin's revealing diary serves as the catalyst for revelations of lesbian attachment between Hyo-Shin and Shi-eun. Several deaths and a possible suicide generate fear that the school labors under a curse. A subsequent, inexplicable event causes mass hysteria. Momento benefits from sparingly used, eerie music; imaginative compositions, including some unexpected canted shots; and a skillful use of color design. Though oblique events prove perplexing at times, the emotional drive gives Momento a solid foundation for its commentary on adolescent torment. In Korean with English subtitles. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 3, in the Lewis Room of the Fontbonne University Library, 6800 Wydown. Call 314-719-8061 for more information. (Diane Carson)