Remember
Short description
Zev Guttman, a Holocaust survivor in his nineties, lives in a retirement home and is losing his memory to dementia. When a fellow survivor and friend discovers that the SS officer who killed both their families is still alive in North America under an assumed identity, he asks Zev to find the man and kill him. Because his friend now uses a wheelchair, Zev must make the trip alone, relying on a handwritten letter that lays out each step of the search. As he travels between the United States and Canada, his failing memory keeps erasing why he is there, and he has to check one possible identity after another.
Atom Egoyan directed the film, working from a screenplay by Benjamin August. It followed Egoyan's features The Captive and Devil's Knot, and Christopher Plummer leads the cast as Zev, with Bruno Ganz, Jürgen Prochnow, Heinz Lieven, Henry Czerny and Dean Norris among the supporting players. Produced by Robert Lantos and Ari Lantos, the film was made for about 10 million USD and is a co-production involving Germany, Canada, Mexico and South Africa.
Remember runs 94 minutes and mixes drama, mystery and thriller elements. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 30,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4 from 771 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 6.5 from 98 reviews, so audiences have responded to it more warmly than reviewers. Its worldwide box office of roughly 2 million USD was modest against its budget.
What's left behind the scenes
- The screenwriters consulted with doctors specializing in the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
- Christopher Plummer plays the piano himself in the relevant scenes.
- German actor Günter Lamprecht was initially cast for one of the roles, but due to a knee injury, he was unable to participate in the filming. As a result, Jürgen Prochnow was found, but he was much younger than the character, so he had to play in age makeup.
- The German Shepherd (Hitler's favorite breed) is named Eva, just like Eva Braun—Hitler's mistress and later wife.
- There are several clues in the film about the true identity of Zeve Gutmann. When he is lying in the bath looking at the shower, the screams of those dying in the gas chamber can be heard in the background. If Zeve had actually been a prisoner in Auschwitz, he would not have been able to leave the chamber alive. In the scene where he buys a gun, when the seller lists the reasons why he needs to check the buyer’s identity against the FBI database, Zeve reacts emotionally only to the option “a fugitive hiding from the law.” Although Zeve asks for detailed instructions on using the gun, at the crucial moment he uses it coldly and efficiently: the first shot kills the attacking dog, the second shot to the chest neutralizes the person, and immediately, with a steady hand, he delivers a finishing shot to the head. This was muscle memory, suggesting the hero underwent specialized training in elite units.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
