Watch Memory Games
- 2018
- 1 hr 26 min
-
6.7 (465)
Memory Games is a thought-provoking documentary film that explores how humans can utilize their memory in unimaginable ways. The film stars Yanjaa Wintersoul, a Mongolian memory athlete who held the Guinness World Record for the fastest memorization of a deck of cards, and her fellow memory athletes Andy Fong and Kyle Bryan Johnson.
The movie begins by introducing the audience to the concept of memory athletes, individuals who are trained to compete in memory competitions. These competitions require the athletes to memorize long strings of numbers, binary codes, names and faces, and even shuffled decks of cards within a set time limit. Yanjaa, Andy, and Kyle are the top memory athletes in the world and during the film, we see their journey to the Memory World Championship in China.
As we follow their journey, the film addresses the question of how memory athletes are able to achieve such incredible feats of memorization. Through interviews with experts in the field of memory, as well as brief excursions into the history of mnemonic techniques, it becomes clear just how powerful our memory can be if we only learn how to use it properly.
The documentary also delves into the lives of the three athletes, exploring their motivations and how they got into the world of competitive memory. Through these personal stories, we see not only the extreme dedication and focus required to become a memory athlete but also the highs and lows of competing on a world stage.
Memory Games also touches on the idea of the limits of human memory. Despite their incredible achievements, the memory athletes themselves admit that there are limits to the amount of information they can store and retrieve, and the film prompts the audience to consider the consequences of relying too heavily on external memory aids such as smartphones.
Throughout the film, there are also brief and entertaining segments where Yanjaa, Andy, and Kyle showcase their impressive memory skills, providing demonstrations to prove their abilities. These segments are not only visually impressive but also provide insight into how their minds work and how they utilize different mnemonic techniques.
All in all, Memory Games is a thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking documentary that will leave its audience in awe of the extraordinary power of the human mind. Through the journeys of Yanjaa, Andy, and Kyle, the film highlights the importance of memory in our lives and encourages viewers to take a closer look at how they can improve their own memory skills.