'UNKNOWN' CHARTS MIND OF AMNESIAC.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic THE SET-UP for Rupert Murray's fascinating documentary ``Unknown White Male'' possesses something of a ``Blair Witch Project'' mythology. It seems that British-born ex-stockbroker Doug Bruce Doug Bruce is the subject of Rupert Murray's 2005 documentary Unknown White Male. Bruce suffers from an extremely rare form of retrograde amnesia that has left his prior episodic memory blank for several years. was riding on a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of subway headed for Coney Island Coney Island (kō`nē), beach resort, amusement center, and neighborhood of S Brooklyn borough of New York City, SE N.Y., on the Atlantic Ocean. one morning in July 2003 when it dawned on him that he couldn't remember anything about himself. His past was lost somewhere in the dark thicket of his brain. Filmmaker Murray counted Bruce as one of his best mates before this onset of retrograde amnesia retrograde amnesia n. A condition in which events that occurred before the onset of amnesia cannot be recalled. retrograde amnesia , a memory loss that wipes clean a person's history but not his acquired skills. Now Murray and Bruce's other friends and family members must accept that the person they once knew has been lost and everyone must make the effort to become acquainted again. One of the fascinating things about this extraordinary film is that it posits memory loss as a rebirth. ``It's as if his senses have been sharpened by a rebooting of his system,'' the filmmaker says. Bruce now sees the world through the eyes of a newborn baby, but appreciates things with the mind of a mature adult. We see him encountering things for the first time - strawberries, snow, the ocean - and appreciating them as original experiences. One friend relates a story in which Bruce enthusiastically tells her about discovering ``the best band.'' It was the Rolling Stones Rolling Stones, English rock music group that rose to prominence in the mid-1960s and continues to exert great influence. Members have included singer Mick Jagger (Michael Phillip Jagger), 1943–; guitarists Brian Jones . (Imagine hearing ``Jumpin' Jack Flash'' with new ears.) Bruce still hasn't recovered his memory, though doctors believe he will someday. To Bruce, that ``someday'' is more terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. than the amnesia. What will happen when the reinvented man encounters his past? Here's a film that almost demands a sequel. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com UNKNOWN WHITE MALE - Three stars (PG-13: drug references, brief strong language) Director: Rupert Murray. Running time: 1 hr. 27 min. Playing: Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena; Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. . In a nutshell: Fascinating documentary about a man who loses his memory and doesn't want it back. |
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