Atom Egoyan’ thriller REMEMBER is a mixture of 70s Nazisploitation and Christopher Nolan’s MEMENTO: entertaining, well-acted, and produced with more script gimmicks than a budget. Former pianist Zev (Christopher Plummer) is 90, has dementia, and lives in a nursing home. After his wife Ruth’s death, his friend Max reminds him of a promise and a plan they both hatched. Zev is supposed to search for four men that are suspected to be Auschwitz block leaders who killed Zev and Max’s family and have gone underground after the war. Max gives Zev a letter describing the task step by step to remind Zev of what he has to do: get a cab, go to a hotel, buy a gun, visit a supposed nazi, shoot if necessary. The letter is absolutely necessary since Zev doesn’t remember where he is or why Ruth isn’t by his side every time he wakes up. Zev encounters a whole series of actors experienced in playing Nazis like Bruno Ganz and Jürgen Prochnow as well Dean Harris, who played Hank in BREAKING BAD and who could’ve played a convincing Nazi in that role as well. Zev’s dementia is more of an interesting narrative ploy than well-researched and REMEMBER isn’t particularly profound. Christopher Plummer plays Zev convincingly, sometimes he’s alert and present, at times he’s friendly but distant, and it’s thrilling to see if he achieves his goal. There’s an interesting twist as well. It’s old-school handiwork that takes itself a tad too seriously than need be.

Hannes Stein

Translation: Elinor Lewy