This first work of drama from Josh Mond is a formal exercise of great visual beauty. A man is alone in a hotel room, but his mind is on a voyage through his memories: an avalanche of very diverse images seems to be cloud his judgment. There is one image which predominates, that of a beautiful young woman who may well have had a relationship with him (she looks at the camera several times as if looking directly at him). The man’s obsession does not subside. At first, it is his forehead which calls up the images, as it literally becomes a small canvas that draws him into his memories. The man attempts to hold back the flood of images which makes him so uncomfortable, but the torrent only intensifies, spilling out and transforming his room into walls of assorted images, mainly powerful scenes from nature (grand forests or imposing waterfalls). The scenery is almost theatrical, and causes a certain amount of claustrophobia; the man is trapped in the room and in his memories. There is also constant laughter and spoken words that are echoes from the past. The woman’s body persists in being the unattainable object of desire. And the film ends abruptly: the man leaves the room and flees from his memories to confront the world. As an exercise in the potential of image and sound, “1009” bear Josh Mond’s hallmark, with cinema becoming a way to approach the sensory aspect of both the real and that which lies beyond. More than the narrative, what matters are the sensations that the protagonist and the audience rightly feel when looking at the screen(s). Actor Christopher Abbott, known for his work in the television series, “Girls,” is featured in the film and has also been chosen for the main character in Mond’s first feature-length film, “James White.” (DR)