De Zaak Alzheimer (The Memory of a Killer) (The Alzheimer Case) (2003)
-
84% of critics liked it
(67 reviews) -
76% of users liked it
(3,767 ratings)
A career criminal struggles to perform an act of street justice as he loses control of his faculties in this thriller from Belgium. Angelo Ledda (Jan Decleir) is a veteran hitman who has spent most of his life as a hired killer. Angelo decides to get out of the business when he finds he's losing… More A career criminal struggles to perform an act of street justice as he loses control of his faculties in this thriller from Belgium. Angelo Ledda (Jan Decleir) is a veteran hitman who has spent most of his life as a hired killer. Angelo decides to get out of the business when he finds he's losing his memory due to the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, but he's been offered a lucrative final assignment that involves murdering two people. Angelo initially says yes to the job, until he finds out one of his targets will be a 13-year-old girl; it goes against Angelo's principles to kill a child, and he decides not to take the assignment. However, Angelo quickly discovers his customers found someone with no such scruples; angry, he seeks vengeance against the man who would kill a young girl, and as he shoots his way through the chain of command that led to the murder, he makes the troubling discovery that the crime is tied to a cadre of powerful figures in business and politics. As Angelo struggles against his failing memory to find out who had final responsibility for the hit and why they ordered it, a pair of police detectives, Vincke (Koen de Bouw) and Verstuyft (Jan Decleir), is trying to find the link between the murders of a growing number of prominent citizens. The Memory of a Killer as initially screened in Belgium as De Zaak Alzheimer, or The Alzheimer Case. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Erik Van Looy
- Written By
- Erik Van Looy, Carl Joos
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- Aug 26, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Classics
Critic Reviews
-
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
It is distinguished by the intelligence of its plotting and the fullness of its characterizations: These are believable people, not merely plot fodder.
-
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
A jaw-dropping premise so smartly executed that if this movie weren't in Flemish I'd swear that Michael Mann had directed it.
-
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Close, but not quite.
-
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Though Memory works perfectly well as a policier, it works even better as a character study of a man losing his edge.
-
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
The film won't put you at the edge of your seat, but will keep your attention.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Cast
-
Koen De Bouw
as Eric Vincke
-
Werner De Smedt
as Freddy Verstuyft
-
Jan Decleir
as Angelo Ledda
-
Gene Bervoets
as Seynaeve
-
Jo De Meyere
as Baron Gustave de Haeck
-
Tom Van Dyck
as Jean de Haeck
-
Lucas van den Eynde
as Bob Van Camp
-
Lone van Roosendaal
as Henriette Seynaeve
-
Vic de Wachter
as Joseph Vlerick
-
Geert Van Rampelberg
as Tom Coemans
-
Hilde De Baerdemaeker
as Linda De Leenheer
-
Laurien Van Den Broeck
as Bieke Cuypers
-
Johan van Assche
as Van Parys
-
Jappe Claes
as Prosecutor Bracke
-
Filip Peeters
as Major De Keyzer
-
Deborah Ostrega
as Anja
-
Bart Slegers
as Lemmens
-
Dirk Roofthooft
as Vader Cuypers
-
Els Dottermans
as Eva Van Camp
-
Patrick Descamps
as Gilles Resnais
-
Babett Manalo
as Masseuse
-
Anais Terryn
as Ine Van Camp
-
Marc Peeters
as Opdebeeck
-
Tom Waes
as Verheyen
-
Eddy Vereycken
as Dr. Abbeloos
-
Ludo Hoogmartens
as Businessman
-
Roland DeJonghe
as Ledda Paolo
-
Peter Borghs
as Guard
-
Jan VanLooveren
as Police Motor-Cyclist
-
Kristin Arras
as Housekeeper
-
Marc Janssen
as Chaplain
-
Katrien Vandendries
as Nurse
-
Miek VanBocxstaele
as Receptionist
-
Jan Dyck
as Taxi Driver

