Film Review – Memories of a Burning Body by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss

Winner of Panorama Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival 2024

Winner of Flash Forward Audience Award at the Busan International Film Festival

Nominated for Best Picture at Lima Film Festival 2024

MEMORIES OF A BURNING BODY
Date: Sat 19 Oct
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: The Projector Cineleisure, Roxy Hall (Level 6)

SINGAPORE PREMIERE
Dir. Antonella Sudasassi Furniss
2024 | Costa Rica, Spain | Drama | 90 min | Spanish with English subtitles | M18 (Sexual Scene and Some Mature Content)

Tickets at: https://sfs-memories.peatix.com/view

This film is important, as it is not just a movie – it is an emotional experience. Memories of a Burning Body (2024), directed by Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, made a poignant mark at the Berlin Film Festival with its extremely intimate portrayal of women’s lives across generations. The film opens with a personal message from the director, “the conversation I never had with my grandmothers,” setting the tone for a story deeply rooted in generational trauma, repression, and the haunting silence that comes with it. In bringing these stories to light, director Sudasassi Furniss creates a necessary and painful reflection on the histories we’ve inherited and the future we hope to reshape.

Sudasassi Furniss merges the experiences of three women from different eras into a singular narrative, skillfully embodied by actress Sol Carballo. This decision to compress their lives into one character gives the story a universal resonance. It allows the film to address not just the particular struggles of these women, but of an entire generation silenced by societal norms that repress female sexuality. In this way, Memories of a Burning Body speaks to both the past and the present, dignifying the sexual aspects of womanhood while exploring the harsh realities of violence and oppression that continue to echo today.

The film’s brilliance, however, lies not in delivering new insights but in forcing viewers to confront a brutal truth: these stories of sexual repression are so common that their predictability becomes part of the film’s power. Instead of adding anything radical to the discourse of women’s sexuality, it instead places us directly in the shoes of the protagonist, demanding raw emotional engagement from the viewer to experience her pain, confusion, and resilience in an almost claustrophobic first-person narrative. This style enhances the film’s emotional weight, evoking empathy and frustration in equal measure.

While the narrative arc might seem familiar, this predictability serves as a commentary on how entrenched the repression of women’s desires has become. We are invited to witness a journey that feels hauntingly familiar, yet heartbreakingly timeless. The film’s exploration of sexual violence, repression, and the quest for freedom speaks to a societal structure that has barely evolved, which makes Memories of a Burning Body both bittersweet and profoundly relevant.

Sudasassi Furniss doesn’t allow for a passive viewing experience; instead, she confronts us with the everyday realities of women, magnifying their experiences in a way that leaves a lasting emotional impact. The imagery of fire throughout the film—symbolising both destruction and renewal—acts as a powerful metaphor for the women’s burning desires and suppressed identities.

Actress Sol Carballo deserves particular praise for her performance, carrying the emotional weight of the film through subtle yet striking expressions of pain, confusion, and moments of liberation. Her portrayal brings dignity to her character’s sexual side without over-sensationalising it, an achievement that adds to the film’s delicate balance of trauma and empowerment.

Though some might find the film’s pacing slow or its message well-trodden, these qualities are precisely what give Memories of a Burning Body its depth. The story doesn’t rush; instead, it sits with the viewer, allowing the discomfort and familiarity of the narrative to linger. It reflects on the cyclical nature of women’s oppression, making the audience contemplate not just the past, but also how these patterns persist today. 

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25 Oct – 3 Nov

Golden Village Suntec City

Free admission with registration! https://kff.sg/2024/

All titles are screened in Korean with English subtitles