The Memory of a Killer (2005)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Best movie ever!

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Changes in memory become normal as people become older, but memory loss that interferes with daily life is not normal. So how does the disease affect hit men?Angelo (Jan Decleir) is a professional hit man, and he wants to retire because he feels he is losing it. Decleir is a veteran Belgian actor known for Character, Daens, and Verlengd weekend. I liked him in Antonia's Line. He is perfect for the role as an aging killer.The movie is a police procedural searching for those involved in child prostitution. The killer is after the same people. Is he good or bad?Koen De Bouw is the police inspector on the case, and also looking at a closed case at the same time. He is known for Loft (2008) and The Intruder (2005), and I think we are going to see great things from him.One thing is certain; Angelo is on his last job. He is losing his mind, and it remains to be seen if he can escape both sides that are searching for him.Deborah Ostrega was a welcome addition to the movie, although she didn't come to a very good end.Watch it before Hollywood screws up the remake.

Enjoyed viewing this Belgium Film concerning a murder mystery involving a very high government official. Eric Vincke, (Koen DeBouw) and Freddy Verstuyft, (Werner DeSmedt) are both of Belgium's best detectives who are assigned to this case which involves many dark dirty facts that eventually become revealed. There is a very young girl about 12 or 13 who escapes being killed and then a hit man appears named Angelo Ledda,(Jan Decleir) who has Alzheimer's and is assigned to kill this young girl. There is one sex scene with a Belgium Prostitute which adds some so called romance to the film. Despite the hit man having Alzheimer's, he is deadly with a weapon and hand to hand combat for an older man. Enjoy, it was very entertaining.

The Alzheimer Case is a gritty thriller from Belgium. Erik Van Looy has managed to craft a film that is both hugely compelling and highly original. It should come as no real surprise if Hollywood pillages The Alzheimer Case for a remake in the very near future.Films about morally plagued hit men are not unusual. However, films about a morally plagued hit-man succumbing to Alzheimer's disease are less common. This twist puts a whole new spin on events in the film. Not only must Angelo complete his assignment, he must complete it before he loses his memory entirely. The assignment in this case is one that Angelo has set for himself after refusing to carry out a hit on a 12 year old girl. When Angelo discovers that the child has been killed by someone else, he decides to bring the culprits to justice. Needless to say, this brings him into conflict with the investigating police officers, Vincke and Verstuyft.One of the film's best qualities is the absence of any kind of sentimentality or message. Angelo is not looking to become a better person, nor is he seeking last minute salvation. He is simply a tired, old man who believes that a line has been crossed. Angelo is played with great skill by award winning Belgian actor Jan Decleir (from "Daens","Hop" etc). His performance is wonderfully restrained and authentic. Koen De Bouw is also hugely impressive as Vincke, the much maligned "intellectual" police officer. He is especially good during scenes with his condescending superiors and the slimy prosecutor. Koen De Bouw has the potential to be the Rutger Hauer of his generation, he certainly has the talent and looks to have an international film career.The actors are well supported by Erik Van Looy's lively direction. Van Looy handles the action scenes with great flair and controls the film's pacing and tone expertly. The special effects are well done and the window cleaning assassination is brilliantly staged. This film looks like it cost significantly more than a couple of million Euro.The Alzheimer Case is an accomplished film from beginning to end. This really is one of the better European action thrillers of recent years.

As other reviewers have pointed out, De Zaak Alzheimer is unremarkable. The movie feel like an episode of a BBC cop series, MI-5 or something of that kind. Not bad for what it is - just not particularly interesting - and a full 2 hours of it. The story is unoriginal and linear, the characters are standard, and the direction is strictly for TV (flashbacks galore and cops standing out in the rain). There's no mystery about who done what, and the whys were entirely predictable. The explication and use of the micturition gag was tiresome. Finally, what I found most irritating was the lighting - red or green bathing every wall and building in the movie, and every person smothered in blue. It just lacks imagination.A couple of qualities I found refreshing. Hearing a variety of languages, none of them English, was cool; if I knew more about the interaction of Dutch, Flemish, and French, I might have found their varied use was a comment on the Belgian social structure. And the dark dance between politics, aristocracy, and morality was interesting but ultimately stillborn once the killing of "all the bad guys" was completed. I'd give this pic a 5 out of 10.