Lapse of Memory (1992)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Patrick Dewolf

Writers:

Robert Cormier (novel)
Patrick Dewolf (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 January 1992 (France)

Genre:

Romance | Thriller

Plot:

After a terrible accident, a psychatrist has to help Bruce to regain his memory. In flashbacks we learn...

Plot Keywords:

Witness Protection | Amnesia | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

John Hurt	...	Conrad Farmer
Marthe Keller	...	Linda Farmer (Marie Carson)
Mathew Mackay	...	Bruce Farmer (Bruce Carson)
Kathleen Robertson	...	Patrick (Melody)
Marion Peterson	...	Dr. Lauren Brint
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jude Beny
Serge Dupire	...	Scott
Terry Haig
Gordon Masten
Michael McGill
Bob Watson Barr	...	Sheldon

Directed by
Patrick Dewolf

Writing credits
Robert Cormier		(novel "I Am the Cheese")
Patrick Dewolf		(writer) &
Philippe Le Guay		(writer)
John Frizzell		(dialogue) &
Patrick Dewolf		(dialogue) &
Philippe Le Guay		(dialogue)

Produced by
Jean-Marie Comeau	....	line producer
Roger Frappier	....	producer
Philippe Guez	....	executive producer
Philippe Guez	....	line producer
Gérard Mital	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Eduardo Serra

Film Editing by
Fabienne Alvarez-Giro

Art Direction by
François Séguin

Costume Design by
François Laplante

Makeup Department
Serge Morache	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Tom Benz	....	production manager

Art Department
Francis Back	....	storyboard artist
Ken Rempel	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Pierre Befve	....	sound
Colette Constantini	....	assistant sound editor
François Groult	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Gravel	....	focus puller
Pascal Ridao	....	camera operator
Stephen Wells	....	key grip

Music Department
Edouard Dubois	....	music consultant
Edouard Dubois	....	music editor

Other crew
Karen Redford	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• France 3 Cinéma
• Gérard Mital Productions
• Jean-Bernard Fetoux
• Max Films Productions
• Société Générale de Gestion Cinématographique (SGGC)

Distributors

• Gérard Mital Productions
• Max Films Productions
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1992) (UK) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Intrigue (special effects)

Also Known As:

Mémoire traquée (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Canada | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company:

France 3 Cinéma

Goofs:

Continuity: When the psychiatrist goes swimming, her hair is in/not in her face between shots.

Lapse of collective American memory?

France sometimes goes wild about American films-- but not the same ones which are blockbusters here. When I visited Paris in January 1992, the Metro stations were full of posters for My Own Private Idaho, Little Man Tate (Le Petit Homme) and this film, which I seem to recall was entitled "Traque de Memoire." I loved it.

When the teenage boy first discovers that his parents are not who they appear to be, he becomes very paranoid, fearing that they are Soviet spies, and that they know he knows, and that they are going to protect themselves by killing him. Can you imagine the suspense of not being able to trust your own parents to let you live another day? This fear comes to a head during a harrowing canoe trip down some rapids. In terror that this is the time when his father has planned to murder him and make it look like an accident, he panics, only to put himself in even greater danger through his own actions. The father must rescue him, at so much risk to his own life as to prove the absurdity of the son's fears. The reconciling, reassuring realization comes at the top of a beautiful but deadly waterfall. It is an exhilarating moment, a worthy climax to any film. But this film is just getting warmed up. There is much more to come.

After returning to the U.S. I searched reference books and asked anyone I thought might know about this film. Nothing. No one had seen it. No one had heard of the plot. No one knew of a film in which John Hurt played a father who had taken his whole family into hiding. It was like having been in Twilight Zone.

It is quite sad that such a well-done thriller, just because it is a Canadian production and takes place in Canada, should be unheard of in the English-speaking country next door.

And it still seems unobtainable here.

But thanks to the power of IMDB searching, at least we can know that it really exists and isn't just a dream one had one night.