Apartment Zero (1988)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Martin Donovan

Writers:

Martin Donovan (story)
Martin Donovan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 September 1989 (West Germany)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Set in modern day Buenos Aires, the film centers around a relationship between two emotionally crippled roommates...

Plot Keywords:

Roommate | Movie Theater | Murder | Serial Killer | Buenos Aires

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Hart Bochner	...	Jack Carney
Colin Firth	...	Adrian LeDuc
Dora Bryan	...	Margaret McKinney
Liz Smith	...	Mary Louise McKinney
Fabrizio Bentivoglio	...	Carlos Sanchez-Verne
James Telfer	...	Vanessa
Mirella D'Angelo	...	Laura Werpachowsky
Juan Vitali	...	Alberto Werpachowsky
Cipe Lincovsky	...	Mrs. Treniev
Francesca d'Aloja	...	Claudia
Miguel Ligero	...	Mr. Palma
Elvia Andreoli	...	Adrian's Mother
Marikena Monti	...	Tango Singer
Luis Romero	...	Projectionist
Oca Spirito	...	Woman in Cinema 1

Also Known As:

Conviviendo con la muerte (Argentina)

Runtime:

124 min | USA:117 min (DVD)

Country:

UK | Argentina

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Producers Representative Organization

Trivia:

Liz Smith was cast at short notice after the original cast performer withdrew because of illness.

Quotes:

Adrian LeDuc: If that is a mask please take it off now, or keep it on forever.

Movie Connections:

References Compulsion (1959)

Soundtrack:

Cambalache

A Masterpiece

I've never had the kind of experience that "Apartment Zero" provided me with. It left me in a daze. I've seen the film countless times since and every time I came out with something new. Last night, I showed the film to a group of people who had never seen it before. Their ages ranged from 17 years old to 41. The reaction was as divided as it was passionated. The point is, nobody could dismiss it. The film has a way to get into your system and question you. Not an easy thing for a film to do. But "Apartment Zero" does it in such an original way that you don't even know its happening. The writer/ director forces us to look into uncomfortable characters straight in the eye and find something of ourselves in there. Chilling! What it may look like a straight forward thriller is in fact a psychological, erotic, puzzle with false doors and moving walls.

Over the years "Apartment Zero" has become a point of reference to me and one of my favourite films of all time.