AMNESIA
[ 1/2] (Two and one-half stars)
‘AMNESIA” is a clever and stylish Dutch twist on the old good-twin/bad-twin plot, with Fedja van Huet playing identical twins who are reunited after a long separation when their eccentric mother (Sacha Balthuis) becomes gravely ill.
There is no love lost between Aram, a sardonic failed lawyer, and Alex, a photographer who arrives at their late father’s estate, which is dotted with wrecked cars, accompanied by Sandra (Carice van Houton), a grave young epileptic.
A series of confrontations between the brothers – at one point, a live rabbit is thrown into a microwave oven – brings up a long-suppressed childhood incident involving their father.
While this twisty thriller sometimes borders on the pretentious, it’s an auspicious debut by writer-director Martin Koolhoven, who has since produced three more films.
Released overseas in 2001, “Amnesia” is the first to reach the United States.
Running time: 90 minutes. In Dutch with English subtitles. At the Pioneer, East Second Street and Second Avenue.