Remember My Name

Colour, 35 mm
USA, 1978, 95 min
Section: Forum of Independents - Tribute to Alan Rudolph

About the film

Rudolph’s second film shares some of the characteristics of the films of Jacques Rivette in that its unpredictable and ambiguous narrative is a jumping-off point for variations on a theme. Rudolph describes it as "an update on the themes of the classic woman’s melodrama of the Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford era.” The story centers on Emily (Geraldine Chaplin), released from prison after a 12-year stint for murder. After symbolically equipping herself with a new wardrobe like a soldier preparing for battle, she goes in search of her ex-husband (Anthony Perkins) and his new wife (Berry Berenson). Emily becomes an intrusive presence, showing up at their house at odd hours, throwing stones at the windows and vandalizing the garden. She sets a peculiar mechanism for revenge in action while leading a strange new life working at a Thrifty Mart and sleeping with her landlord. The film creates many flimsy layers of fiction, then begins to strip them all away as it becomes evident that the plot itself is not what Rudolph is after. The powerful blues songs of Alberta Hunter as well as potent camerawork by Tak Fujimoto underline Emily’s obsession with the man she used to love in all its convolutions.