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Watch Online / Before We Forget (2011)
Desc: Before We Forget: Directed by Boo Jeremy, Lee Xian Jie. With Fernandez Joyce, Fernandez Celine, Giam Irene, Wong Ting Hway. Filmed in an observational style, BEFORE WE FORGET is the interwoven story of two Singaporean families and their year-long journey with dementia. The film tells the story of Joyce Fernandez, a 50- year-old woman caring for her mother Celine, who has had Alzheimer's Disease for 7 years. When Celine suffers a mild stroke and is hospitalized for over three months, Joyce attempts to keep herself together especially after Celine lost all what little speech and she originally had. "Mum and I would have good conversations. But not anymore. I didn't lose a mother, I lost a friend". The duo, both staunch Catholics, keep their heads above the emotional turmoil through daily prayer. The camera also captures frank interviews with Dr Irene Giam (PhD), a former mathematics tutor and atheist with strong views about death in the face of terminal illness. She is first filmed after being diagnosed with 'mild cognitive impairment' likely due to systemic fibrosis, an autoimmune disorder which affects her breathing. After she is warded in a hospice because of her rapidly worsening health, vascular dementia causes her to forget the frequent visits by her husband and deepens her feelings of loneliness. BEFORE WE FORGET observes how dementia slowly and subtly stresses and affect both families. It also depicts candid moments of joy amid the quiet suffering they have to endure.