The Almond & The Seahorse

Charlotte Gainsbourg, Trine Dyrholm, Rebel Wilson and Celyn Jones shine in heartfelt and heart-rending drama about cognitive mysteries, memory loss, and love despite all.

The amygdala and hippocampus in the brain’s limbic system play a huge part in the creation and storage of memories. After having had a brain tumor removed, nothing seems to stick to Joe (Jones) anymore while his old memories are increasingly fading away. His wife Sarah (Wilson) fears that their entire coexistence is crumbling to pieces. Gwen (Dyrholm) has become stuck in 1999, recognizing neither their partner Toni (Gainsbourg) nor their own mirror image. With charm, warmth, and dead-seriousness, these two parallel stories are woven together to a gripping story about chronic brain damage that inexorably puts even the strongest relationships to the test.

• Johan Blomqvist