Dir: Sabu | Thriller 2026
Arrested Memory follows Lee (Ethan Juan), a once-legendary Taipei detective sidelined to a quiet rural police station after a tragic, guilt-inducing operation. His life takes a surreal turn when he is diagnosed with rapid, early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Just as his mind begins to fracture, a high-profile kidnapping case breaks: the son of a wealthy Japanese tycoon has been taken.Lee soon finds himself lost in a neon-lit nocturnal nightmare, wandering the streets while clutching a massive bag of ransom money.
The catch? He has absolutely no memory of how he acquired the cash, who it belongs to, or where he is supposed to deliver it. With ruthless gangsters, desperate kidnappers, and his own police colleagues hot on his heels, Lee is forced to survive a deadly game of cat-and-mouse using nothing but pure muscle memory and raw cop instincts.
Arrested Memory serves as a brilliant celebration of Sabu’s 30-year directorial career, throwing back to the frantic energy of his 1996 debut, Dangan Runner. The movie revives his most beloved thematic trope: an ordinary, deeply flawed protagonist trapped in a escalating snowball of terrible luck.
In a nostalgic treat for long-time fans, the film features a reunion with veteran actor Shin’ichi Tsutsumi, the star of Sabu’s iconic early works. Tsutsumi steps back into the director’s universe with effortless gravity, playing a formidable antagonist who barks orders at our profoundly confused hero.
By blending the dark existential dread of his Berlin Competition entries—like Chasuke’s Journey (2015) and Mr. Long (2017)—with the breathless, multi-character foot chases of his youth, Sabu delivers a definitive synthesis of his artistic identity: Neon Nostalgia and Hyper-Editing
Visually, the film operates as a gorgeous, adrenaline-soaked love letter to the golden era of 1980s and 1990s Hong Kong gangster cinema. Sabu and cinematographer Jai Ip plunge us into a highly stylised, dreamlike underworld. The editing is aggressive, jagged, and hyperkinetic, mimicking the disorienting, crumbling state of Lee’s internal memory. The colour palette relies heavily on a saturated, neon-drenched night aesthetic, contrasting the sleek chaos of urban crime with the eerie stillness of rural Taiwan.
Arrested Memory ultimately balances its high-octane pulp violence with a surprisingly tender core, proving that even when a man’s identity completely fades, basic human decency and muscle memory endure.
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL 2026