Aftersun: A Bittersweet Memory

Aftersun (2022) is a film that captures the audience in terms of feelings of loss, grief, and bittersweet childhood memories. Since its debut in 2022, it has been discussed and it is one of the best films of the last decade. The director, Charlotte Wells, states that it is semi-autobiographical since it is based on some memories with her father. 

You can search the internet for summaries or reviews of this film. Yet, there is one certain thing. We can define this film with only one word: a feeling. A feeling that is lost among our childhood memories, a feeling that we sense on a beach lying under the sun, a feeling that we remember a lost loved one. Thanks to its spectacular cinematography, we become very immersed in the film while watching. The beautiful Turkish coast, the wavy sea, the shining sun, the breeze we feel on summer nights, and the spectacular views. It feels like we can almost reach inside the film. We can sense the characters’ instant mood swings and their emotions.

Throughout the film, anxiety, a sense of loss and nostalgia are the main themes. We dive into the feelings that takes us through Sophie’s memories of her long-lost father. Calum, the protagonist, is a single father who wants to spend time with his daughter for the last time in summer with a vacation in Türkiye. His depression and anxiety towards life are not that obvious from the start; however, as the film progresses, we slowly start to sense his depressive attitude and how his feelings start to fade away. Among the crowd, he is lonely even though his daughter is beside him.

We can sense his suffering while looking into his eyes through the camera. His insistence on recording the memories with his daughter is rooted in his suicidal behavior and sadness inside him. He is aware that it is the last time he spends time with his daughter and tries hard to make the memories beautiful and lasting. He will not survive yet the videos will. That is why he tries to capture nearly every moment together to leave memories to his daughter. The film itself is sort of a documentary of a father, who knows he is going to die, and his unaware, young daughter.

Calum’s behavior is relatable in many senses. Although he is aware that his decision to end his life is selfish, he still wants to compensate for this action with one last vacation for just the two of them. 

Death is an inevitable part of life but still, every death is tragic. We, as humankind, will never fully comprehend this concept. We will never fully accept the concept of losing our loved ones. However, it does not change the fact that we will all surrender to death one day even though we are prone to forget this. The film is a painful reminder of the concept of the unexpected death of our loved ones. Even after a sweet summer holiday, we can encounter this reality. But isn't death life's cunning way to perplex us? 

We can say that Aftersun is a great example to demonstrate how nostalgia brings back painful memories besides good memories. However, it is not a complete story, rather it is a fragment of a memory about a father who has been lost a long time ago. That is why, it draws the audience into a journey inside Sophie’s mind and makes us dive into the bittersweet memories of a daughter and father.