Memento

Leonard, an insurance investigator, wakes up one night to suspicious sounds coming from the bathroom and his wife missing. He goes into check it out and ends up getting hit over the head causing him to lose his short-term memory. His memory remains normal up to the point of the attack but he cannot make any new memories from that point on. After the murder, Leonard is on a quest to find his wife's killer(s) and uses polaroids, notes, and tattoos to keep information needed in finding the murderers. Throughout the movie, various characters whom he seeks help from, wonder aloud what the point of finding his wife's killers is if he's not going to be able to remember it anyway- he's adamant that that will be one memory he won't lose. One thing that confuses me is if Leonard can't make any new memories, past the point where he got hit over the head, how does he remember that he lost his short-term memory?

The story continues to show scenes in the opposite direction of how they actually unfolded, with the beginning of one scene corresponding with the end of the next, as shown in the movie. The only part that goes chronologically is when Leonard is talking on the phone and telling the story of Sammy Jankis- these scenes are shown in black and white and go chronologically as the others go backwards. They finally meet at the end of the movie (but beginning of the story).

It is implied that Sammy Jankis actually turns out to be the story of Leonard's wife's death. Another question I have is how a man, who has to remind himself where he is and what he's doing with pictures, is able to escape the cops for so long if his story is, in fact, Sammy Jankis' story. Maybe with the help of Teddy it was possible, but seems unlikely. Also, if he killed his wife, how did he lose his short-term memory? Did the attack happen and she survived and then Leonard killed her?

Anyways, finally Teddy tells Leonard

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