De zaak Alzheimer (2003)

Director:

Erik Van Looy

Writers:

Jef Geeraerts (novel)
Carl Joos (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Vincke and Verstuyft are the best detectives of the Antwerp police department. They are confronted with the murder on a leading executive and put all their effort to catch the murderer.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Detective | Corpse | Prostitute | Assassin

Awards:

7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Laurien Van den Broeck	...	Bieke Cuypers
Dirk Roofthooft	...	Vader Cuypers
Koen De Bouw	...	Eric Vincke
Werner De Smedt	...	Freddy Verstuyft
Hilde De Baerdemaeker	...	Linda de Leenheer
Geert Van Rampelberg	...	Tom Coemans
Jan Decleir	...	Angelo Ledda
Patrick Descamps	...	Gilles Resnais
Anne-Caroline Suberville	...	Dienster
Jan Dyck	...	Taxi Driver
Miek Van Bocxtaele	...	Receptionist (as Miek Van Bocxstaele)
Deborah Ostrega	...	Anja
Gene Bervoets	...	Seynaeve
Els Dottermans	...	Eva Van Camp
Lucas van den Eijnde	...	Bob Van Camp

Also Known As:

La mémoire du tueur (Belgium: French title)
The Alzheimer Affair (International: English title)
The Alzheimer Case (International: English title)
The Memory of a Killer (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

123 min | Belgium:135 min (director's cut)

Country:

Belgium | Netherlands

Language:

Dutch | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Belgium:KT | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

Company:

MMG Film & TV Production

Trivia:

In the first scene in the café, Bieke en Vincke are watching an episode of "Buiten de Zone" (season 2, episode 2: "Kitsch en Kunst"), a highly popular youth series in the 1990s. The actor who plays Bieke's father in the movie, Dirk Roofthooft, appeared several times in this series.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the cops are in the car with Ledda, the cops shoot out the tires. But in a later shot of the rear of the car, the tires are still intact.

Quotes:

Freddy Verstuyft: [while practicing his French] Vincke, why do you have to know French to pass the commisioner's exam?
Tom Coemans: To be able to read the menus in the fancy restaurants, Freddy.

Movie Connections:

References Dip huet seung hung (1989)

Belgian top thriller with outstanding performances

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