The Importance of Memory Through Forgotten Island (2026)

Memory is a fickle thing, and Forgotten Island tackles it through a shared friendship bracelet. In fact, we’re told how much these friendship bracelets mean to the main characters in their first meeting within the first 10-15 minutes, and it sets up how important their friendship is as a whole.

The film centers around Jo (voiced by Filipino-American singer H.E.R.) and Raissa (played by Filipino-American actress Liza Soberano), as they find themselves stuck on a magical island known as Nakali (short for nakalimutan). The island is swarmed with creatures both scary and friendly from local Filipino folklore, featuring popular ones like the famed Manananggal, a vampire-like creature who is able to detach her lower half. 

From Joel Crawford (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) and Januel Mercado comes another fun adventure, reminiscent of Crawford’s previous film, as it centers around memory rather than death. 

Throughout the film’s 109-minute runtime, it constantly reminds us about how memories and experiences are what define both relationships and people as individuals, and it asks us the question:

What are you willing to sacrifice to find a way back home?

The film’s main conflict centers around Jo and Raissa trying to find a way back home, but the only known way seems to be through a memory-hungry demon named Batiba (Jenny Slater). Batiba suggests a trade, where Jo and Raissa hand her their friendship bracelets for a journey back home; however, it backfires, as their bracelets contain the story of their entire friendship.

Despite the obstacles they go through, we see the difference between Jo and Raissa’s approach in trying to get back home. 

Jo symbolizes the past. She treasures the friendship bracelet that she and Raissa share, especially because it’s linked to memories she had with her late grandma, Lola Fatima. She also focuses more on preserving her past memories and, to an extent, trying to prevent Raissa from leaving her, as she is set to go to college in the USA. Meanwhile, Raissa represents the future, where she ideally knows her path with Caltech, as she’s set to start a new life elsewhere, as Jo mistakes her decision for abandoning her and their friendship.

As the question hangs over the entire film, it influences the decisions they make on the island, where Jo finds a way for Raissa to stay and preserve their past, while Raissa actively tries to find a way out to secure her future. 

The film’s climax forces them to confront the idea of losing their memories as a means to escape, as it means losing the friendship they had formed and shaped throughout the years. 

The best moments could never be replaced; neither can they be recreated. That, on its own, proves the importance of memories, particularly the good ones in a sea of bad ones, as these two best friends define it through a simple friendship bracelet.

Personally, I thought the film worked well with their friendship being the essential heart of the movie, as obvious as it would be. But I did not realize how important the bracelets would be from the get-go, especially since it also seems to have had ties to the only family Jo had growing up, while Raissa’s rebellious nature had been awakened through her friendship with Jo.

This also made the film’s climax hit me harder than most, mostly because Raissa chose to preserve those memories and fight for her and Jo’s friendship, since their matching bracelet is essentially why Batiba fails to steal their memories. It also made me realize how much they would do anything for each other, even putting their lives on the line to protect one another. 

As the first line says, memory truly is a fickle thing. It’s meant to be sentimental, something when a place or person reminds us of certain memories. Just like how Forgotten Island will be kept in my memories as a film I would go back to.