Blank

A simple experiment performed on a white mouse under strictly controlled laboratory conditions is used to test the effectiveness of medication for Alzheimer’s disease. When an infected mouse is in a round container of water, it is not able to find a small submerged platform, even if the experiment is repeated; it still swims in circles because its memory cannot store the position of the platform. On the contrary, a mouse that is medicated with substances that improve the memory and suppress the symptoms of the disease, can find its way to the platform quicker and easier. This experimental film is based on the visual effect that consists of the dominant white colour of the mouse and the container, and in the round form of the vessel which, when transferred to the screen, functions as a frame of the film itself. Despite its short runtime the film represents an impressive minimalistic capture of a behavioural test. Simultaneously it stimulates the audience into considering the function of their own memories. At the beginning people are asked not to think about a white bear, but the simple task causes the opposite reaction and they start to think about the white bear immediately. The brain of a patient in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease cannot fulfil this task, the memory vanishes progressively and leaves a blank. (Academia Film Olomouc)