User reviews

I bought this DVD without any reference, and for my surprise it is an excellent thriller. The theme about children prostitution is very well exposed, the beginning of the movie is very impressive, and the actress Lauren Van de Broeck that plays Bieke Cuypers really looks like a little Lolita. The story of an old hit man that has a code of honor and does not accept the job of killing a teenager, turning against the powerful men that hired him, is magnificently disclosed, in a right pace and with stunning performances. The emphatic character of Angelo Ledda is played by the unknown actor Jan Decleir, and I was really impressed with his acting. I have just seen in IMDb that "De Zaak Alzheimer" won seven prizes and three nominations in European Festivals and this movie certainly deserved these awards. The character of Baron Gustave De Haeck , living in a swamp of corruption and children prostitution, would certainly not adapt living in the jungle, as mentioned in the story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Alzheimer Case"

Only a handful of Belgian movies haven't given me the feeling that they were produced locally and with a limited budget. This is one of them, not surprisingly because it was done with a larger budget than usual (but still quite small by Hollywood standards). I feel it has everything in place to rival any Hollywood production. The most important asset of the movie however is veteran actor Jan Decleir, a man who was already indirectly nominated a few times for the Oscars via the foreign movies section. Jan Decleir is brilliant and outclasses everyone else on the set (as he often does). The rest of the cast consists of good and not so good actors (some come from terrible Flemish soap series), but somehow everyone seems to rise above him/herself on this occasion and everyone deliver a decent performance. The photography, camera-work, everything's done quite professionally. The difference with many Hollywood action movies is the fact that the plot is quite good. The fact that the main character has Alzheimer's and that he has to use his ever shrinking mental capabilities to finish his quest, is an original twist. People will compare Alzheimer's to Memento, because of the main character's memory loss. But Memento was conceived to challenge viewers, to baffle them, to be perceived as intelligent and artistic. By contrast this movie is more down to Earth, more realistic and in the end simply something completely different. It's nothing more than an original cop-movie, good entertainment and certainly something I'd recommend, even to non Belgian or non-Dutch speaking viewers. Plans are underway for a Hollywood remake of this movie, so it must be other people have recognized its potential too. One word of caution though. Many people say the movie is a bit too long. That's a sentiment I share. At the end the plot loses a bit of its strength. But overall i'd label 'De zaak Alzheimer' a good movie.

I saw this film at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. Although based on a novel, this stylish police thriller's main conceit ("hit-man has Alzheimer's") could have been lifted from a Hollywood film executive's idea of "high concept". Except that it would have made a forgettable Hollywood picture. Instead, director Van Looy sets this story in his native Belgium. Police detectives Vincke and Verstuyft are like a modern day Starsky and Hutch, without the bad haircuts. Who knew that Antwerp even had police, never mind such cool ones? Their job is to track down the man who's killed several high-profile politicians and a young child prostitute.

Reminding me a lot of Terence Stamp in The Limey, veteran actor Jan Decleir portrays aging hitman Angelo Ledda, whose refusal to kill the young girl leads him to seek revenge on the people who want her dead. His deterioration is a cause for sympathy as well as a plot device. He must complete his "mission" before he forgets his reasons for carrying it out. He also plays a cat and mouse game with the police who are trying to solve the killings, staying one step ahead until he can no longer think clearly.

Van Looy admitted his fondness for "police thrillers with a soul" and especially for the work of Michael Mann, and the influence of Mann is everywhere. If you like Mann, you'll like this film. Well-developed characters, moody cinematography and fine acting didn't completely save this film, though. I thought the plot was a little too straightforward, and the film itself was about 20 minutes too long, with a couple of false endings that could have been re-cut. I think I would have given a shorter version of this film an 8, but even if it was a slightly derivative cop film, it was a slightly derivative cop film IN FLEMISH, which has to count for something!

(7/10)

If, like me, you don't know what country "Flemish cinema" refers to, then read on. Yeah, I'm one of those dimwits like Joey on Friends when they tell him Dutch people live in the Netherlands, and he says "no, that's where Peter Pan came from." Suffice it to say this was the first Belgian film I've ever seen, and I was really impressed. It's stylish, polished, has a lush musical score, and features a lot of actors who seem really human. Even the minor roles were well played.

I'm not usually a fan of crime thrillers, but this one drew me in with its interesting premise: a hero who's losing his memory. In that respect, reminded me of the excellent Tom Tykwer film "Winter Sleepers" (1997), except this film is driven by a faster, more action-oriented plot and pace.

There's a lot going on here. Just when you think it's over, a new drama comes into the mix, making it unpredictable until the end. The director effectively used a lot of suspense tricks which will make you say "aha, you got me!" For example (though this was not used in this movie), a cat might jump out at the perfect moment to give your heart a little leap. In hindsight it's silly, but you can't deny it works. So bear in mind, this is definitely a movie for people who enjoy being taken for a ride. In the same vein, I think the director intentionally uses some standard clichés, almost in a playful way. If you approach this movie with the idea of having a fun time, you won't be disappointed.

Final note: I think it helps to be a little familiar with Belgian culture, which I'm not. I could tell the characters switch languages between different variations of Dutch/Flemish, French, and snippets of English, and I think that's significant. Some of the settings are breathtaking, and I found myself saying "wow, that place is cool! I wonder where that is". In all, this is a film that Belgium can be very proud of, and I hope to see more like it in the future.

Unlike "Memento," the 2003 Belgian film "Memory of a Killer" is not about a struggle with failing memory, even if the original title was "The Alzheimer Affair" - not a potential box-office draw. The main character, Ledda (played with self-effacing brilliance by Jan Decleir), does have the onset of Alzheimer's, and he writes names of his future victims on his arm, but if you took that element away, the story would remain virtually the same.

Initially, that story is about an international mafia operation in Antwerp, including child prostitution on its agenda. Decleir's character - an aging, but impressively professional killer, who is flesh-and-blood real, far from the typical Hollywood caricature - runs up against an order to kill a 13-year-old girl. In crime syndicates, assignments are not optional, so Ledda is now pitched against his former colleagues and bosses, in a desperate run for survival.

It is at that point the film's real nature emerges, a variation on "The Fugitive," a lone man against overwhelming forces, but with a unique twist: Ledda is no hero, in fact he is a super-villain, and yet director Erik Van Looy's work of honesty and integrity, and Decleir's performance put the audience squarely in the killer's corner.

The reason: he is fighting not only for survival, but against a major collusion between crime bosses and government officials, making the work of the honest police official Vincke (played by Koen De Bouw) quite impossible.

It is the reluctant and indirect collaboration between Ledda and Vincke, two individuals - a cop and a killer - against a mighty machine, that gives "Memory of a Killer" its focus and zing.

There is something very puzzling about the presentation of this film. Anyone with even a passing exposure to world news may well remember that there was a huge scandal in Belgium just a few years ago over exactly the same scenario: child prostitution and a government cover-up that went up to the highest ranks, busted open finally by a few honest cops (and even an intervention from the king). And yet, in all the studio literature, there isn't a single mention of a possible connection, and when specifically asked, a spokesperson for US presenter Sony said the film "has no relationship whatsoever to the Belgian scandal." Strange, indeed.

It takes a lot of guts to make a Belgian "policier". It's like making an American western without John Wayne, or a French flick without Jean Gabin or Alain Delon.

New times, new directors, new actors... Director Van Looy found his actors. Not only are they good, they are outstanding. Much will be said about the three main actors: Jan Decleir, Koen De Bauw and Werner De Smedt, but look closely at the supporting roles. Hilde De Baerdemaeker is one of the coming Belgian ladies... read my lips!

The script is based on a book by author Jef Geeraerts but for once the adaptation is better.

The dialogues are tongue in cheek, and for fans of "NYPD Blue" or "Homicide" this movie is a real treat. When the lights come on in the theater you want to look at your TV guide and check when the next episode is due...

The camera is nervous, it follows the action closely and the music is very well chosen. Also, without being chauvinistic, it's wonderful to see all the action take place in one of the largest European cities: Antwerp.

One of the best Belgian movies yet? Yes. A nice build up of characters, situations, drama. It's not easy, but it has been done.

Director Van Looy found his real commitment, a police thriller. You can compare this movie with "Memento" (the memory loss) or "Se7en" (the dualism between the two investigators) but better yet to "The Insider". Watch it: you will find out why.

This Belgian film was titled "The Memory of A Killer" when it played in Austin in September. Known in Europe as "The Alzheimer Case," it's a police procedural about an aging hit man with early Alzheimer's who agrees to complete what he knows is his last assignment. Movies featuring a character with Alzheimer's are often somber, bittersweet weepers. "The Memory of a Killer" is nothing like that.

It's a taut, fast-paced noir with a protagonist who lives by the same code as that of Alain Delon in Jean Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai" or Jean Gabin in "Touchez Pas Au Grisbi." The hit man Angelo Ledda is portrayed by Belgian actor Jan Decleir. He won his country's top acting award and other European festival honors for his nuanced, empathic performance.

How Ledda knows what's happening to his mind is explained in a way totally credible to anyone who has known someone suffering from this disease. Even as his mind slips away, he retains his morality about certain crimes and that code eventually sends him in directions that surprise and anger his employer. Ledda's crimes and related crimes drive two police investigators - and Ledda - in a race against time. The plot threads become as tangled and mysterious as the tangles in Ledda's diseased mind and unravel in a stunning conclusion.

This film was made by Belgian director Erik Van Looy, whose stylish work won top honors along with Decleir. The film is based on the novel "De Zaak Alzheimer" by popular Belgian detective novelist Jef Geeraerts. Hopefully, it and his other novels will be translated into English. Geeraerts' psychological approach evokes another Belgian writer, the incomparable Georges Simenon. This is the first of Geeraerts' stories to reach the big screen, and Hollywood has bought the rights to a remake. Don't wait; see the original. Decleir's portrayal should not be missed.

An old hit man must battle the effects of Alzheimer's disease while staying one step ahead of a corrupt and bureaucratic Belgian police force. Van Looy has created a slickly entertaining film, but in the end it feels like empty calories, with too much style and little substance. The representation of Alzheimer moments using a weird green tint becomes annoying, as it doesn't really serve any purpose. The film moves at a fast clip but loses momentum about two-thirds of the way through and then goes on a bit too long. Decleir gives a good performance as the killer. The running gag about people urinating into the locks of BMWs is meant to be hilarious but is simply lame.

I was surprised to read several negative comments on this site about "De Zaak Alzheimer". Some people seem to think that the movie wasn't worth the hype, but I disagree with this. I think this is the best Belgian cop thriller ever made. The story (based on the novel of Jef Geeraerts) is brilliantly written and the cast is outstanding. Our best Belgian actors give top performances. Jan Decleir, Koen De Bouw, Werner De Smedt and Jo De Meyere are wonderful.

When I would see an American movie who is similar to "De Zaak Alzheimer", I'd probably give it 8/10. What so special about "De Zaak Alzheimer"? It is a Belgian production, made with a limited budget and a cast and crew who doesn't have that much experience in making cop thrillers in an American style. So I'm convinced the movie is really worth the hype. Also that fact that the movie was nominated and won several awards in other countries, proves Erik Van Looy really made a good impression with his movie. I also heard they're negotiating for an American adaptation of the book, what also proves the value of the movie and the book.

A sequel? No, not a sequel but an adaptation of another book of Jef Geeraerts would be suitable. Erik Van Looy is also planning on doing this, but I read it is possible we will have to wait several years for this adaptation because the expectations will be high and Van Looy of course doesn't want to disappoint the audience.

To conclude my comment I can only repeat the fact that "De Zaak Alzheimer" is a great movie and I can't hardly wait to see the American adaptation (they talked about Morgan Freeman for one of the leading roles) and the next adaptation of a Jef Geeraerts-novel by Erik Van Looy.

9/10

Having just watched Liam Neeson as the assassin with Alzheimer's and a conscince, I took a shot at the film upon it was based. The orignal is similar as far as the basic story goes but has a few differences, including a vastly different ending.

Jan Declair is excellent as the killer although Liam has more of a screen presence in the American movie.

The hitman is hired to off a series of bad men involved in a prostitution ring. Some of those involved are at the highest levels of society and corruption is rampant within the legal system.

The killer makes a decision not to kill a twelve year-old girl he has ben paid to hit.

The action is almost constant and I recommend both films.

"The Memory of a Killer (De Zaak Alzheimer)" is a sophisticated synthesis of several genres into a stylish thriller. There's the opening shots of a steam engine, saluting European film noir contrasting with the sharp sunlight of corrupt Marseille; the Georges Simenon-like police investigation contemporized with gritty Brit mystery crimes and the hunky bantering buddy cops where one is a wild rule-breaker and his boss is an Eliot Ness straight arrow; the samurai code of honor; the Western where the old gunslinger takes on one last conflict, like "The Unforgiven" and already adapted to "Man on the Train (L'Homme du Train)"; a revenge showdown, like the recent "Four Brothers"; the memory stream of consciousness tricks of "Memento" and the snappy editing of Hong Kong crime thrillers like "Infernal Affairs (Wu jian dao)." And we even get a "The Sopranos"-like psychological profile of a hit man.

While director Erik Van Looy smoothly integrates all these elements together in adapting what must have been a complex novel, this is terrific, intelligent popular entertainment and only its subtitles keep it in limited release in the U.S. in art houses. Too bad a Hollywood adaptation is inevitable.

The film has an exciting dual structure of following the cops and the criminal as they get intertwined and chase each other, as each sorts out vengeance and some justice (with surprising collateral damage) ever higher up the responsibility ladder so that our sympathies, and theirs, are compromised. While we atypically don't see anything of the cops' personal lives (except with an amusing visual twist that it's the guy in the shower), we do get thrust into their quite believable bureaucratic and legal wranglings, which, while a bit confusing for an American audience, can be inferred to be similar to the jurisdictional conflicts between local police departments and the FBI that we've seen in plenty of movies and TV shows. The English subtitles seem pretty good at communicating the localisms, though some of the cultural conflict in Belgium between French and Flemish speakers is lost, particularly when it is significant which language is being spoken.

The twist that is given away in the original title of the film, translated as "The Alzheimer Affair," is that the highly intelligent and perceptive criminal, the charismatic Jan Decleir, realizes he is losing his memory, and sees his near future clearly in his hospitalized brother. We get inside his head as he is trying to out race not only the cops, his traitorous client and duplicitous boss, but himself, so that his taunt of "too slow" takes on a double meaning. His professionalism takes over even when the flashy cinematography indicates he doesn't quite remember what he's done.

While the body count is high, the violence is one on one and is not gratuitous. Each death ratchets up the tensions and complications as what at first seems street level crime has cynical political implications. Much of the film takes place in the dark, like "Collateral," and while there's a fair amount of sudden coming up from behind scares, that's usually the start of a suspenseful scene where cat and mouse decisions ricochet off in surprising ways.

The music very effectively supports the action, particularly when the story continues in an unexpected direction, though the choice of a Starsailor song over the credits didn't seem to fit.

It's a bit perplexing that "The Beat That My Heart Skipped (De Battre mon coeur s'est arrete)" is getting wider distribution (probably because it's a remake of an American film and has a young hunk at the center), when this is the better European crime thriller of the summer.

Enjoyed viewing this Belgium Film concerning a murder mystery involving a very high government official. Eric Vincke, (Koen DeBouw) and Freddy Verstuyft, (Werner DeSmedt) are both of Belgium's best detectives who are assigned to this case which involves many dark dirty facts that eventually become revealed. There is a very young girl about 12 or 13 who escapes being killed and then a hit man appears named Angelo Ledda,(Jan Decleir) who has Alzheimer's and is assigned to kill this young girl. There is one sex scene with a Belgium Prostitute which adds some so called romance to the film. Despite the hit man having Alzheimer's, he is deadly with a weapon and hand to hand combat for an older man. Enjoy, it was very entertaining.

The problem with these movies from smaller countries is that it all reveals a kind of inferiority complex, as everything that comes out and is a cut above average is instantly hailed as a classic as if it is a sports match where the underdog must win in order to advance the national pride. Having that out of the way, this is still a decent movie. The comparison with Memento falls flat, because although the main character does suffer from memory loss, this is more an effort to revive the almost dead French genre of the policier (extra points for that) somewhat influenced by Mann (although Mann's movies are much more rooted in literature).

Most striking is that there is fierce criticism of Belgian society: No cooperation between cops of different corpses, there is little funding for police, corruption abound, appointments for friends only, etc. But the most important subject is that of pedophilia and this being made after the Dutroux-case seems to support the theory of large pedophile networks protected by certain people in the upper echelons of society, be it law, police or politics. This satisfies the opinion of most Belgians on the subject matter, although never proved up till now. But you can still debate if it is very ethical to cash in on the whole case in this matter.

Unfortunately a large amount of logic is lacking in the screenplay. Why does Ledda take such risks to contact police as he is the only one who can tackle the case. He shoots a cop and Vincke hardly is very angry the next time they speak. Ledda seeks shelter in his old home where everybody can find him. Once in the hospital he is almost dead, he then suddenly revives after a death treat and starts acting like a super hero with suicidal tendencies. The subject of Alzheimer itself is worked upon, but nothing is accomplished that makes the theme work in the movie.

The movie looks good with reasonable camera-work, but most 'cool' sequences are on the video clip level. The movie has some bad lines, although the whole structure works. Some jokes are rather infantile. And there is a strange mix of good and bad acting, with Jan Decleir coming out on top and Werner De Smedt at the bottom.

The Alzheimer Case is a gritty thriller from Belgium. Erik Van Looy has managed to craft a film that is both hugely compelling and highly original. It should come as no real surprise if Hollywood pillages The Alzheimer Case for a remake in the very near future.

Films about morally plagued hit men are not unusual. However, films about a morally plagued hit-man succumbing to Alzheimer's disease are less common. This twist puts a whole new spin on events in the film. Not only must Angelo complete his assignment, he must complete it before he loses his memory entirely. The assignment in this case is one that Angelo has set for himself after refusing to carry out a hit on a 12 year old girl. When Angelo discovers that the child has been killed by someone else, he decides to bring the culprits to justice. Needless to say, this brings him into conflict with the investigating police officers, Vincke and Verstuyft.

One of the film's best qualities is the absence of any kind of sentimentality or message. Angelo is not looking to become a better person, nor is he seeking last minute salvation. He is simply a tired, old man who believes that a line has been crossed. Angelo is played with great skill by award winning Belgian actor Jan Decleir (from "Daens","Hop" etc). His performance is wonderfully restrained and authentic. Koen De Bouw is also hugely impressive as Vincke, the much maligned "intellectual" police officer. He is especially good during scenes with his condescending superiors and the slimy prosecutor. Koen De Bouw has the potential to be the Rutger Hauer of his generation, he certainly has the talent and looks to have an international film career.

The actors are well supported by Erik Van Looy's lively direction. Van Looy handles the action scenes with great flair and controls the film's pacing and tone expertly. The special effects are well done and the window cleaning assassination is brilliantly staged. This film looks like it cost significantly more than a couple of million Euro.

The Alzheimer Case is an accomplished film from beginning to end. This really is one of the better European action thrillers of recent years.

The hype about this movie here in Belgium was big, perhaps too big as they let us believe it was the biggest Belgian movie ever.... Well, enfant terrible Erik Van Looy did what he had to do and copying some US-copmovie but for some reason he did it too much cos anyone who has seen "Memento" will burst out into laughter as this is about a man who forgets everything and write the clues on his arms... Okay but that doesn't make "De zaak Alzheimer" a bad movie, it's even quite good but if you think about it all, the movie doesn't differ that much from a French policefilm with say Alain Delon. The performances themselves don't have to be commented, Jan Decleir is superb but you also have to deal with Werner Desmedt, the sort of Belgian actor who appeared in terrible soaps and now is supposed to be the creme de la creme. Yes, Mr. Van Looy, you made a decent movie but it ends up just in the quite long list of Belgian movies that aren't that bad...

I don't know what the problem is with Belgium. For some reason or another almost no-one seems to make movies over here. If you compare it to Spain or France (just to name two other European countries) the number of movies made over here really is awfully low. The directors always complain that they don't have the money to make big productions, that the country is too small for real success... Nonsense, a good movie doesn't have to cost all that much and can still have a lot of success as De Zaak Alzheimer (or the Alzheimer Case for the people who don't speak Dutch) proved.

The movie is based on a novel written by Jef Geeraerts, one of Belgium's best writers when it comes to crime novels. Having read several of his books, I can assure you that the man is a good observer who really knows what he's talking about. For instance the hatred and envy between the different police forces isn't just made up by the writer. Every Belgian can assure you that it is really a big problem sometimes.

The story is about a professional hit-man who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. He isn't able to remember any details, so he writes everything down on his arm. When he's hired to kill a 12 year old girl who was the victim of pedophiles, he doesn't do his job, but goes after the bad guys.

If a Spanish or French director made this movie, this would have been a huge success all over the world. Now the movie went by rather unnoticed. OK, here it was a huge success, but I'm sure that most people in other countries haven't heard of it before. Still this may well be called one of the best movies in Belgian history. It's true that it has a big American feeling, but that didn't bother me once and I heard that Hollywood is planning a remake of this movie, so Van Looy must have done something right. I give it an 8,5/10.

This was a decent, but formulaic movie based in part on real-life events. The plot was full of twists and turns, but it didn't take any viewer effort to figure anything out. The character presentations were one-dimensional and all decisions about their likability was also taken out of the hands of the viewer. The sound track was a little heavy and distracting at the beginning of the film, but fit the mood better by the end. The ending was satisfying and there was some social relevance (again with no shade of grey for the viewer to interpret) thrown in to enhance the experience. To sum up--a good, well-acted movie that will keep you entertained for two hours straight without straining your brain.

If the director Eric Van Looy says he's a fan of Michael Mann, we can definitely see it in this movie. And this is meant in a good way. The action is nicely countered by conversations and humor. Flashy but clear, emotional but not pathetic. Great color palette. A very good balance between all elements which should be in every quality movie. Actors doing a fantastic job, not the stereotype cops, not the stereotype serial killer, but enjoyable, human roles. A story which is well built, has suspense and is keeping you watching the whole film without becoming bored even ones.

After great Belgian drama movies, we encounter now also a great Belgian action movie. I sincerely hope the Belgian movie industry keeps coming with more of this. This movie competes with any action movie made in Hollywood. And I am convinced people are waiting for more of this, just like I am.

'De Zaak Alzheimer' or 'The Alzheimer Case' or the US titled 'The Memory of a Killer' is a stunningly well written, directed, acted, and photographed film from Belgium. Though termed by director Erik Van Looy as a 'police thriller', this gripping drama is so much more: this is the story of organized crime, of the men and women who fight crime, and of a man afflicted with progressive Alzheimer's Disease which alters his entire view of his life of crime. It is a police thriller with a soul and as such is one of the finest films of this genre this viewer has ever seen.

Angelo Ledda (the enormously gifted Jan Decleir) is a hit man sent to Antwerp to eliminate some important 'clients'. He is hesitant to take on the job as he understands that his mind is being slowly altered by the effects of Alzheimer's disease. But go he must and after his first successful 'kill', he is ordered to kill a young girl, an order he cannot follow, and an order, which with his failing memory and abilities acknowledged, he decides to turn on his employers and rid the world of those big crime magnates. The Flemish police, lead by two superb minds - Vincke (Koen De Bouw) and Verstuyft (Werner De Smedt) - follow the path of corpses that lay in Ledda's wake of destroying the important heads of crime in Antwerp. Ledda becomes strangely connected and committed to the two police, in reality helping them by remote stance do their job, but the movie is a cat and mouse chase between the police and Ledda and one whose ending, though somewhat predictable, manages to tear at the heart of the audience as the unwinding of Ledda's mind by Alzheimer's disease results in a metamorphosis of a killer's mentality to that of a quasi-hero.

Brilliantly photographed by Danny Elsen and accompanied by an electrifying musical score by Stephen Warbeck THE MEMORY OF A KILLER is a taut, tense, unnerving, and fascinating tale told to perfection by Carl Joos' screenplay based on Jef Geeraerts' novel. There isn't a weak link here - every actor is superb and the performance by Jan Decleir is the stuff of which legends are made. Recommended without reservation. In Dutch and French and Flemish with English subtitles. Grady Harp

I just came back from the movie, unsatisfied as I'm speaking. The story has been told a thousand times before, the end was very dissapointing, and they could have done much better with the atmosphere -which is in my opinion the strongest concept of the film- It started out very well, with a great opening scene, some nice visual shots grab you with the story, but then the drawback comes....the humor, the Werner desmedt, the unnecessary conversations between the two investigators and the police, completely out of place.....which really put you out of the atmosphere. I would say "p***ing on someone's car, so they smell on it and can laugh with it".....completely ridiculous in my opinion, really doesn't belong in a movie like this. For most people, the movie was good because of the innovative cinematography in Belgian films, but that doesn't do it for me. In my opinion also, the movie is too much based on Decleir, like the flashbacks he gets after his killing, it gave me great moments....but I'm so unsatisfied because they didn't do anything with him at the end....The movie unfolds slowly with a very dissapointing end...I was screaming but I didn't get an echo. The whole characterisation of Jan Decleir adds nothing at the end....Alzheimer....does not add a single value to this film....on what themes is this movie based on?? Child prostitution? Revenge? I dunno....The movie could have gone mystery, because of the atmosphere (with the nice cinematography) or it could have gone a real cop-story...which it did....but it failed at both miserably, don't kill me yet, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.... They would have done much better if the characterisation of the murderer comes to an emotional end...but they just let him die... There so much wrong about the movie I can't explain...but then....that's just me

7/10

Finally a Belgian movie that can compete with all the foreign high-budget movies. Translate this into English and you've got yourself a blockbuster. I think everybody that's into movies, should see this one.

I heard the plans to make a second movie about the police duo are pending. I really hope they will become real.

Way to go Erik Van Looy...

Don't we all love (the products of) our home country? This seems to be the case with this film. It's getting numerous rave reviews in my home country, Belgium, but the only reason I can think of why this is happening, is because it's a Belgian film. This is actually Hollywood film-making, but with Belgian actors and situations. It ain't worse than your average Hollywood thriller, but it ain't exactly much better too. It's like the director, Erik van Looy, is shouting out: "Look what I can do: I can make a perfect copy of a Hollywood policier!"

In copying the Hollywood style, he surely has succeeded. It almost seems like every scene is an exact copy of what you have seen in superior films such as SE7EN (right up to the package of the killer at the end), MEMENTO (the notes on the lead character's arm), the Michael Mann films (the look of the film), etc. You could compare this film to those films, but that would be unfair: this simply has none of the greatness nor the originality of those films.

Thus said, the biggest problem of this film is its originality. You could predict every story "twist" as the films comes along right up to the final shot. It's quite enjoyable nonetheless, though it gets more and more frustrating in the end when you realize nothing surprising will happen.

Can you blame the actors for all of this? Well, I was never a big fan of Belgian actors and I still feel the same way. Some are pretty good, others are simply not believable. Actors like Koen De Bouw and Jo De Meyere get excellent reviews, but are quite disappointing in their one-dimensional approach to their characters. Jan Decleir is regarded as our best actor (he appears in almost every Belgian film), and he delivers with a decent, if not great, performance. Werner De Smedt is always watchable, though I liked him better in the Academy Award-nominated IEDEREEN BEROEMD! (not a great film either by the way, though I really liked that film's lead actor, Josse De Pauw). The supporting roles fare generally better, especially Dirk Roofthooft in a small but pivotal role, and actresses like Els Dottermans or Hilde De Baerdemaker (though their roles don't add up to much). But for a better actors' film, watch Tom Barman's ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS (though actors and style is all that one's got).

Now, you might have guessed that I'm not a big fan of Belgian films, unlike most of the people I know, but I really wouldn't bother watching this film if you're not Belgian yourself. You could just as easily watch mediocre Hollywood fare like KISS THE GIRLS, BLOOD WORK, or another SE7EN/SILENCE OF THE LAMBS rip-off. De Zaak Alzheimer (The Alzheimer Case) is watchable enough, and at times rather funny, but I think mostly to Belgian audiences. The rivalry between the different Belgian police units, or the scandals in which almost every Belgian politician, advocate, prosecutor, or whatever is embroiled are quite amusing, but this film has really not that much more to offer. My rating would be a mere 5,5/10.

P.S.: for a good Belgian film, see if you can find ALLES MOET WEG (Everything Must Go), MANNEKEN PIS, ROSIE or (more or less)DAENS. See that I don't dislike em all? -)

In general I don't quite like Belgium movies. Most of them are low budget and the actors are terrible. But this one was great.

I knew it had some good reviews and everybody i knew liked the movie, but I still didn't saw him.

Jan Decleir in general was great, really. Very power full acting.

The movie itselfs has some nice camera effects, the story is good. As you see the movie you will recognize some resemblances from other movies, to name one: Memento.

I rate it 7.5 out of 10. And add another 0.5 because it's a great Belgian movie.