L'Uomo senza Memoria (Puzzle)

A man loses his memory during a car accident in London. He was found next to the body of a dead man, but can't even remember if the name in his passport, Peter Smith, is correct. He then receives a letter from a woman called Sara, who asks him to come to Italy, where she will be waiting for him in Portofino. Sara tells him she is his wife and his real name is Edward Warren. He doesn't recognize her, and is then accosted by a fellow Brit living in Italy, George, who asks him where the 1 million dollars are ...

Luc Merenda doesn't look very British, but otherwise I have no real complaints about this simple, but very effective thriller. It's labeled as a giallo, but it avoids the clichés of the genre such as black gloves and a killer stalking his victims in the dark. Like Tessari's better known Una Farfalle con le Ali Insanguinate (The Blood-stained butterfly) it plays more like a mystery thriller. The finale seems inspired by Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, a chainsaw replacing the wolf-trap of the original movie. This finale is nicely 'announced' in an early scene in which Berger puts her chainsaw in the kitchen cupboard: Might come in handy some day!

Senta Berger is a beautiful as ever and although Merenda is a bit bland as the amnesiac, his monolithic performance seems to serve the movie quite well. Director and co-writer Tessari isn't really interested in exploring the state of mind of the leading character, but simply uses the memory loss as a story element, prolonging the suspense by offering memory fragments throughout the movie, revealing Merenda's past bit by bit. Bruno Corazzari (the 'Italian Klaus Kinski') is very effective as the creepy George, the man who seems to be setting traps for Merenda all the time. Unfortunately there are too many scenes with Berger and a particularly swanky kid next-door, a boy who thinks he's already a Casanova at the age of ten or eleven. Oh, those Italian boys.

The early scenes, set in London, are very atmospheric and good use has been made of the locations in and around the beautiful coastal town of Portofino (South-East of Genova). For an Italian mystery thriller, the story is surprisingly uncomplicated, but it's well-constructed, and Tessari direct with a steady hand. A little-known genre gem.

Aanraders in overeenkomstige genres, volgens Boobytrap:
- La Femme Infidèle (The Unfaithful Wife) (thriller / drama : 8)
- Que la bête meure (thriller / drama : 8)
- Desu nôto (Death Note) (thriller / fantasy : 7.5)
- Obsession (thriller / romantiek : 7.5)
- Schemer (thriller : 7.5)

Hoe beoordeelt Boobytrap categorie thriller eigenlijk? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10