In Krapp’s Last Tape, an old man reviews his life, pondering the decisions he once made and assessing his predicament.
We learn about him not from the 69-year-old man on stage but from his 39-year-old self on the tape he listens to. On the awful occasion of his birthday, Krapp is in the habit of reviewing the past year and separating the grain from the husks. He isolates memories of value, which provide nourishment to set against creeping death, when all my dust has settled. Slovenly and clumsy, Krapp shuffles around, timing the intervals at which he allows himself drinks. With his banana routine and odd name, he appears comic and ridiculous.
The film of Krapp’s Last Tape is directed by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey) and stars John Hurt. I am fascinated by human interaction with technology, says Egoyan. Beckett explores the contrast between memory and recorded memory as Krapp reminisces on his birthday, struggling to reconcile perception and reality. Technology is an enormous issue today, so Beckett’s themes are hugely relevant. The human inability to communicate in reality is brought into sharp focus. (58 mins.)