Firstly, in order to properly discuss The Souvenir: Part II, we need to begin by remembering the film’s predecessor.
Remembering The Souvenir
I was absolutely floored when I first saw The Souvenir upon its release in 2019.
The film began as a simple depiction of a troubled relationship. Masterfully, it unfolded into a larger, devastating story. A portrait of how one person struggled to support, and then survive in the shadow of the other’s darkness, which sought to consume and doom them both.
Upon seeing the film’s final frame, my mind was blown. Then, the end credits revealed that The Souvenir would return in a second part.
Aghast, I instantly wondered: “Where would this story go from here?”
The Souvenir: Part II, which is now playing in select theaters, answers that question.
An auto-biographical sequel
Director Joanna Hogg continues with the semi-autobiographical story of Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne). Her devastating relationship to Anthony (Tom Burke) has ended. Nervously, she must figure out how to move forward in the aftermath of those recent tragic events. Independently, and alone.
The Souvenir focused mainly on Julie and Anthony’s turbulent relationship, ending by only briefly showing Julie entering film school. The Souvenir: Part II sees Julie towards the end of school and embarking on making her thesis film. The story that Julie, the student filmmaker, decides to make, is the story of a young woman in a turbulent relationship.
Joanna Hogg’s cinematic catharsis
Fascinatingly, Joanna Hogg–a woman who previously made a film about a woman navigating a dark chapter in her life–has now returned with a film about a woman making a film about a woman navigating a dark chapter in her life, brings an even deeper level of poignancy and meta-reflection to the storytelling.
The focus of the drama in this film is, while Julie is now liberated, can she process and make sense of her life’s recent events? Still timid and soft-spoken (the white she wears liken her to a floating ghost), those around her throw unsure glances. How will she process this heavy trauma? Is she even capable of doing so?
This sequel (of which the format type is rarely seen beyond superhero movies and prestige TV) works wonderfully here. If the story of The Souvenir was to have ended with that film, we would have been left to create the rest of her life’s story in our own heads. The Souvenir: Part II provides the necessary closure and cathartic release to Julie’s story, which its director feels deeply connected to resolving.
Spell-binding cinematic closure
Beyond its incredible emotional honesty, the film is beautifully constructed from a cinematic level. Visually, the film is lensed through a soft, pastel world, which perfectly captures Julie in 1980s London. The Souvenir films should be admired for its visual and technical artistry just as much for its emotional storytelling.
However, if there’s a shortcoming that I found with my experience with Part II, it’s that there isn’t the same effect in the grandly measured reveal that defined the first film. The Souvenir bloomed into a large and suspenseful story. Part II is more defined by seeing how, or if, she will come to terms with her past, and how, or if, she will realize her artistic vision.
Still, it’s all told so bravely, and shot so beautifully, that I am enthused to recommend not just this film, but both, to everyone. Truly, they are among the most special pieces that have been shared about a person’s life, and depiction of an artist’s struggle, that I’ve seen shown on film in recent times. The Souvenir films should forever be cherished as a thing to have to remember a life-changing journey by.
‘The Souvenir: Part II’ is now playing in select theaters.
