Memento film poster analysis

                      Japanese movie release Poster                                                            UK movie release Poster

The font colour and style of the Film Title differs in each poster, although both aren't sharpened and pristine, to link in with the fractured narrative and theme. While the UK title looks imperfect due to the handwritten style, in an almost chalk-board effect, the Japanese title is more striking in the bold red lettering, connoting a disturbance and reinforcing the fractured narrative in the way the ends of the lettering are breaking off and fading; this is particularly effective as parts of the protagonist's memory are also breaking off. The colour red clearly connotes danger but also love and passion, so while there is a foreshadowing of violence and dangerous situations, love is also portrayed as a motive behind his actions as we know his wife is brutally killed, and he is on a quest to find out who did it. However it can be suggested that the handwritten font of the UK poster has more relevance to the film as the main character writes on the polaroids to remind himself of events he is likely to forget. The artist has drawn on this aspect effectively and used the film name and tag lines etc instead. This is clever and creates a very realistic effect that portrays the film's features excellently.

The use of the 'Droste effect' in the UK poster of images within an image is linked very well with the film's narrative, The protagonist searches for his memories in images, as featured in the trailer; he looks for the meaning behind them and this is certainly what this effect portrays. The fact that the last prominent image within this is of the caption of the poster, this could suggest that there is an inability to see beyond this surface, reinforcing his struggle to find answers. Plus the reality is that this is never-ending, there are more pictures inside pictures, we question whether there is in fact an equilibrium. The image in this UK poster of the main protagonist has an authentic blurring effect, almost as if he is in a daze. This lack of clarity reinforces the confusion throughout. There seems to be a contrast in lighting on each half of his face, having featured of is face both dark and light could be suggesting his duality and propensity to do good or evil.
Both the main images on the posters have a skewed effect, tilted to the side to reinforce disorder.

The main image on the Japanese poster is similar to the draft of my own film poster in the way it presents the mans body titled to the side with no actual direct address, there is a distance from him yet we know so much about him from this single image. From the tattoos across his body, the most eye catching is the text across his chest saying 'Find him and kill...'. From this we are given insight to the plot and narrative already, we can suggest this is the protagonist's main intention and immediately foreshadows the violent content of the film. The black and white effect of the image on the Japanese poster starkly contrasts with the striking red surrounding it. This may suggest that the main protagonist in fact encapsulates danger, and suggests he should be feared. My own 'Distortion' poster draft also links with certain aspects of the Japanese poster for Memento in terms of the black ans white effect, contrasting with the red. Also the sketched writing in the background of my main image is of a similar theme to the tattoos written across the man's body in the memento poster.

The tagline coincides with the polaroid image 'some memories are best forgotten', therefore the idea of the images getting smaller reinforces the idea that these images and memories are moving further away from his grasp, thus again giving more insight to the overall plot, hinting clearly at his amnesia.
The UK poster pays more attention to the cast names that the Japanese poster; the font ties in with the handwritten effect of the film name and is positioned directly above it. This suggests that the actors in the film are of more interest to a UK audience and creating this awareness may be a method to draw in their type of audience. This appeal is not the same for a Japanese audience, it seems that the artwork of the poster would entice them more than the actors.

It is worth mentioning that the billing block does slightly differ in each of the posters, while in the UK poster there is more clarity due to the black text against a white background, in the Japanese poster the white writing against the red background is even harder to decipher with the text also considerably smaller. This is not the most important aspect of the film, hence why it is cast to the bottom and is written in very small lettering.
On the UK poster the appraisals are clear, featured at the bottom of the main image, they refer to the Cannes, Venice and Sundance film festivals. This is something featured to inform the audience that this film has been critically acclaimed, which for some would determine their decision to watch it or not. This is again not the most important aspect of the film poster however it certainly enhances its credibility and suggests it will be received well.
As well as these two other minor aspects there is the inclusion of the film production company logos which are there simply to hint at the success of the film.

Targets for my own poster: 
From analysing these posters i have gained more understanding of the aspects i need to now include in my own poster. My target is to possibly think again about the most important features within my own film trailer and determine whether this main image is the right selection. I need to rearrange my image also to fit in appraisals, cast names, production company etc. I may want to rethink my colour scheme to fit with the mood of the overall trailer i have created.