I.

Summary
A moment to remember story involves a couple (Kim Su-Jin and Choi Chul-Soo) falling
in love and then being painfully wrenched by a tragedy. Kim Su-Jin, a 27 year old
fashion designer was waiting in the train station but she was just been stood up by her
married boyfriend. She acclaimed herself as forgetful. Choi Chul-Soo, a tall handsome
man bumps into her at the Family Mart whom she had a misunderstanding. Immediate
sparks are struck, but a flame doesn't build until she finds out that the Chul-Soo is a
foreman for her father's business. Chul-Soo is temperamental, tough and manly. He's
brusque but usually with a sense of righteousness, a true carpenter by the heart who
stands by his principles. This leads to the courtship of the two which eventually led to
marriage. After what is a really cute and sweet period of courtship between the two, it
is painful to see them being cruelly torn apart by a disease. A ton of tearjerker freight
train smacked this perfect couple with all the strength they can muster. A disease
usually reserved for the ailing elderly has now been bestowed upon a twenty-seven
year-old girl -- Alzheimers disease. Her husband, Choi Chul-Soo must deal with the
plight of his wifes condition. Events have now changed. The way Su-Jins memory
slowly and gradually fading away is the most tragic event Ive seen in the movie. She
even sees her ex-boyfriend who is now single without knowing she has a husband. Their
marriage is in jeopardy for keeping faith in a marriage is always this ongoing process of
both remembering what brought you together in the first place but also responding to
and embracing the person who's here before you now. She is living a life without a clue
of what was lost. Though Su-Jin has this disease, her husband, Chul-soo gave her what a
wife needs, a true and loving husband. He still stayed by her side even if her parents are
taking her away from him due to the reason that they could take care of her more.
Chul-Soo proved them wrong, he was giving her a quality of love until the very end,
although the end is uncertain. A love that neither of us could define as the last part of
the movie, Chul-Soo says Saranghae (I Love You).

II. Diagnosis/ Disorder Presented in the Movie

a. Brief Discussion of the disorder (Types and Manifestations)
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurologic disease of the brain leading to the
irreversible loss of neurons and the loss of intellectual abilities, including memory and
reasoning, which become severe enough to impede social or occupational
functioning. Alzheimer's disease is also known as simply Alzheimer's, and Senile
Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (SDAT). During the course of the disease plaques
and tangles develop within the structure of the brain. This causes brain cells to die.
Patients with Alzheimer's also have a deficiency in the levels of some vital brain
chemicals which are involved with the transmission of messages in the brain neurotransmitters. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. The
disease gets worse as it develops - it is a progressive disease. There is no current cure for
Alzheimer's, although there are ways of slowing down its advance and helping patients
with some of the symptoms. Alzheimer's is also a terminal disease - it is incurable and
causes death. According the National Institute on Aging, there are estimated to be
between 2.4 million and 4.5 million Americans who have Alzheimer's. There are
approximately 417,000 people in the UK with Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's
Society (Nordqvist, 2009).
b. Discuss how the disorder was portrayed
The movie A Moment to Remember centers on a story of a woman (Su Jin) that has
incurred Alzheimers disease at a young age. The film begins in a comedic style when
she met her future husband where she took his can of soda which she thought was the
one she accidentally left at the convenience store. They became intimately close and
eventually settled into a married life. She began losing her memories and eventually lost
her memories of her family, job, and her daily activities like brushing her teeth. The
climax of the movie is when the doctor informed Su Jin of her illness, as well as the part
when Su Jin left Chul-soo, for him to move on with his own life. The situation that she has
gone through with her life is unimaginable.

c. Identify specific scenes for the manifestations

Symptoms of Early Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

Difficulty in recognizing familiar people or things - Su-Jin also cannot find the right
words to say when she said after she has smelled the aftershave, This smell gives me
a strange feeling. Reminds me of the old days. Was it my dad? My uncle?

Trouble remembering recent events or activities In the movie, Su-Jin has put glue in
her scrapbook and after a moment she asked Chul-Soo if he has put glue on it and
did it again. She also finds something which she does not know what that thing is. SuJin after sitting beside her husband, finds something in the house and goes back to
Chul-Soo saying Where were you?

Less concentration This is shown in the movie where Su-Jin cannot find the Ace in
the game grift.

Forgetting where they have recently placed objects At the first part of the movie,
she forgot her coke and wallet in the family mart where he met Chul-Soo. Another
scene was when Chul-Soo saw her pens and Su-Jin said that she used to misplace her
pens a lot.

Finding the right word for a familiar thing and performing familiar tasks can be difficult
Su-Jin, while preparing for the lunch of Chul-Soo packed the wrong food in the
container, there was no side dishes and it was all rice. Su-Jin cannot remember the
name of the game that they used to play with her husband as she stated, That. That.
That thing that you do with cards.

Symptoms of Intermediate Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

Starting to have trouble carrying out everyday activities such as bathing, dressing,
and grooming without help at the end of the movie, the nurse who took care of SuJin said that she cannot dress without help.

Major gaps in memory begin to be evident, with individuals often unable to recall
their address, the year, the season, and recent events Su-Jin did cannot is having a
hard time remembering their address. She also does not remember her husband and
goes back to her ex-boyfriend knowing that he is still her current boyfriend. There are
two scenes in the movie where Su-Jin talks to Young-Min like no breakup has
happened before and she does not know that years have passed since the past
relationship. Su-Jin also has lost track of dates depicted when she came back to the
neurologist after 2 weeks even though the appointment is after 1 week. She also does
not remember the age and birthday of her family members.

Individuals can be disoriented or confused even in familiar surroundings, occasionally

forgetting names of people close to them Su-Jin stated to her friends that she feels
lost in familiar streets and she has trouble finding her way home

They can still remember things that happened long ago and recognize people from
early in their life He cannot remember Chul-Soo but she still remember Young-Min
and her family

Symptoms of Late Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

Urinary incontinence in the movie, theres one scene where Su-Jin comes out of the
room without her knowing that she has already urinated in her underwear

Severe disorientation- including wandering and getting lost Su-Jin, when he was
about to meet Young-Min finds herself totally lost and didnt know about her
surroundings

Individuals can usually still understand and experience sensory information At the
end of the movie, Su-Jin still knew the smell of the aftershave Chul-Soo used to put on
when they first met and she tries to say the same words again but she cannot recall
any.

d. Identify specific scenes for the treatment

The scene that involved Su-Jin seeking for treatment is when he went to a neurologist
for her being forgetful. The doctor primarily ran Su-Jin into diagnostic tests like MRI and
PET Scan. These tests revealed some abnormal proteins clogged on the brain of Su-Jin
and confirmed Alzheimers disease. The doctor also gave Su-Jin medication for her to
take as he said that the medication would only slow the disease progress and will not
cure it.

III. Reaction/Conclusion
As I watch the movie, I thought it was just a simple melodramatic film due to a disease,
just like any other. I didnt even think that I needed handkerchief for the tears it has
caused me yes, a crybaby myself. I have thought of the difference of this story from
the others why it made me cry especially Ive recently watched The Vow which has
the same concept with it. A moment to remember is better! The difference would be
the disease itself. Just imagine seeing someone who is alive and standing right before
your eyes, and yet knowing that that someone is not really there, not really alive. I
cant imagine my loved one losing his memory gradually right before my very eyes
when all I can see from him would be suffering. This is far more tragic than death
portrayal in other movies because your loved one is still alive yet you cannot do
anything for him. The person with Alzheimers disease will realize that clock time really
does not have any value like it did before. Their sense of time just is not the same as it
used to be. They have had to make up their own system of keeping track of most
everything that goes on in their life. As you begin to know your injury, you kind of
develop a new normal for your life and family. Do you sometimes feel that you have
recalled a memory in the past but didnt quite recollect all its details? Do you
sometimes feel that when you are going to a place you suddenly forgot the reason
why you did so? Many of us are experiencing these blank memories. I even cannot
imagine myself acquiring this disease for I know many will suffer especially my family.
In general, A Moment to Remember is not only an ordinary love story where
boy-meets-girl type but rather it provides the audience a grasp of how life is with

Alzheimers. This film teaches the viewers to appreciate affection and relationships and
to better understand people who are suffering from Alzheimers disease. Though it may
be a disease with no cure, the dynamism of not giving up is a powerful force in keeping
an Alzheimers patient alive. Like in the movie, the unfailing faith of Chul-Soo in love has
kept their relationship strong amidst Su Jin slowly depleting memories. This affection is
considered as the moving force of the movie and should be expressed to other
Alzheimers stricken individuals.
Alzheimers is a fight staged on the mind, as Su Jin would put it, There is an
eraser in my head. Though it may look hopeless for an individual to fight it alone, every
person involved should huddle together and give their undying affections towards the
person as Chul-Soo did. Though a persons mind would be slowly destroyed by the
disease, a heart filled with affection can give that person a reason to continue living
until the persons dying breath. The mere fact that love is being expressed to that
person is a great way of helping him/her struggle against the disease. People would say
that Love conquers all, but for this case Love conquers Alzheimers. Truly, that is A
Moment to Remember.

Movie Analysis

A Moment To
Remember
Everything passes away, but I wish I could
remember my love forever.

Alzheimers Disease

Marvh 1, 2014
SUBMITTED BY JOY APRIL DE LEON, RN SUBMITTED TO ANNA LYN PAANO, RN, MAN
Rated N

RS209