REMEMBRANCE
Remembrance – Synopsis
Toronto, 1942. ALFRED GRAVES has the curse of perfect memory. It’s born of a rare condition, synesthesia, that fuses his five senses. He can’t see something without also tasting it, hearing its colour, feeling its scent—it’s overwhelming. He shields himself from the outside world, living cautiously and touring his one-man memory show. But his defenses are down when AURORA LUFT watches one night. They share a drink, a dance then she confesses she was sent to recruit him to a top-secret spy training camp near Whitby, Ontario. Privately, and against orders, she warns him not to come: “It’s not your kind of work.” But Alfred, drawn to her and desperate for change, signs up.
At Camp X, an outgoing, popular trainee named RENÉ takes Alfred under his wing. Then Alfred learns René and Aurora are an item. Shattered, he’s forced to ask himself what he’s really doing there. René, Aurora and the other classmates don’t trust him: he may be gifted—quick with codes, maps, foreign dialects, and cover stories—but he becomes erratic when strong sensations overwhelm him. The head instructor, MAJOR CUTHBERT, wants him out of field training altogether. But guided by the Camp C.O., MAJOR STEPHENS, Alfred gradually learns that his ‘curse’ can actually be an ally. He begins to control his sensory chaos. And in fleeting private moments with Aurora, he discovers a growing confidence: he’s no love-struck schoolboy, and he’ll prove it at any cost. They keep their distance, but playful sparks fly sparks that make René a little uneasy.
René and Alfred are partnered for an explosives exercise. Distracted, René makes a fatal mistake. The charge explodes beneath him. Alfred reels, reliving René’s death again and again. He can’t go on. That night, escaping the farewell party, Aurora tracks Alfred down on the quiet grounds of the camp. And tells him the truth. She’s not a trainee. She’s an elite spy and Alfred was a “mission”. Now she sees she was right all along: Alfred’s not cut out for the job. Furious, Alfred confronts his superiors at the party and demands a field assignment. He’s no one’s puppet. And they need him. That’s what Cuthbert and Stephens wanted to hear and they fill him in
Alfred is parachuted into Occupied France. He brings vital letters, code-keys, maps—all stored in his memory. There to receive him is Major Cuthbert. He’s come to “babysit” Alfred—and to keep some terrible news from him: their code has been broken, a mission ambushed, and Aurora is dead. Alfred finds out. Devastated, he begins to unravel. Cuthbert would love nothing more than to send him home. But he needs Alfred’s memory.
The next night, Cuthbert drags Alfred on a daring incursion. During the blaring festivities marking Hitler’s birthday, they penetrate a German headquarters to raid their code safe. Alfred, struggling to forget, is a shadow of himself. But when Cuthbert missteps and is wounded by a guard, Alfred’s instincts kick in. In the face of death, Alfred finally surrenders to his memory and finds a potent new way to use it. He outwits the guard and, to Cuthbert’s astonishment, defeats him. He quickly memorizes the safe’s files and comes across an unusual line of code. The Germans haven’t been able to crack it. But Alfred can. It’s a code meant just for him. A remembered clue from their short time together. Aurora’s alive—and Alfred knows where.
Returning Cuthbert to safety, Alfred gets permission for his first solo mission. As he and Aurora face each other at last, they find themselves at a new beginning. Once, he was so enslaved by memory that he could barely experience life. Now Alfred embraces both. To live in fear of loss is not to live.
Copyright © Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern · WGC Registration #S03-6918