Sé quién eres

During the last couple of years Spain has produced such an amount of quality films, that it is almost inevitable for a film like Sé quién eres to hit the screens. Still, it is sad to see that a film doesn't have to be made in the USA for it to feature every possible Hollywood cliché. Sé quién eres is a thriller in which a female doctor examines a man who has lost his memory due to some horrible experience he had in the seventies. Sound familiar? Well, after the typical premise Sé quién eres follows the conventions of the genre so faithfully, that the audience can at any time guess what is going to happen next. The only original and interesting aspect of the film are the references to the past of Spain, and to the terrorism during the Franco dictatorship. Sadly, this theme is left undeveloped, while it might have been made into a interesting political thriller - something Sé quién eres is not.

To sum it up: if the language of Sé quién eres would be changed from Spanish to American English, nobody would notice the difference.

Adapting totally the historical occurence in Madrid of an attack on a left-wing lawyers' office in Atocha, a suburb of Madrid, and transposing it to another formula but with similar `underhand' political connotations, rife in those early days of the transition in Spain towards democracy, `Sé Quién Eres' (I know who you are) builds up a neat mystery thriller, a little in the style of some of those classic detective novels by such writers as Patricia Highsmith or Raymond Chandler and turned into films.

Mario, since that rather horrific night, lapses into a peculiar state of loss of memory called the Korsakof Syndrome, and gets taken into the nursing home of a doctor, Paloma, who is at once fascinated by but rather fearful of this rather unpredictable man. The story unfolds between Galicia and Madrid, flashback scenes gradually slotting into place, with a couple of brief excursions into what might be termed `over-the-top exaggerations', which, mercifully, do not spoil the film.

The rhythm of the film is intentionally held at a low-key pitch, maintaining a rather quietened almost psychological balance, rather than the intrepid pace of gun-toting detectives in full flight behind equally armed villains, gangsters, or what-have-you. The result is a film which keeps the viewer interested, despite certain flaws in some scenes which interrupted a little the rhythm of the piece.

The cast is good – very good. Ana Fernández has attracted me for some time now, and I think we can safely say she is among the best two or three Spanish actresses of the moment – the other is Ariadna Gil (qv). Ana Fernández was excellent in `Solas' (1999)(qv) and this, together with `You're the One' and `Hable con Ella' show that she is a good choice for character-driven story-lines. Miguel Ángel Solá is definitely up to the mark here, playing opposite Fernández. Vicky Peña as Sarah is worthy of mention for her small part.

Alcaine's photography is good and José Nieto, as ever, gives us an interesting score, albeit somewhat remeniscent at times of Chandler country perhaps. He has long been one of Spain's top two or three composers for films and TV programmes.

Despite certain loose wanderings and the use of obvious standardised architecture for films of this genre, Patricia Ferreira has made, with this film, a promising start to her career.

It begins at a Galician sanatorium , there comes Paloma (Ana Fernández) , a young psychiatrist to work at the far clinic . She has been hired to work as a director of a mental hospital in Galicia , to heal the patients . Paloma is attracted to Mario (Miguel Ángel Solá) , a hospital patient who is likable but has lost memory . Being her first patient Paloma learns Mario has amnesia , commonly known as Korsakov's syndrome and he is having panic to past records . As a result , both his short and long term memories are affected . However , Paloma finds out the traumatic Mario to be a riveting individual , not just an usual ill , as she uncovers his previous life through drawings , psychoanalysis and Freudian theories . Intrigued , Paloma decides to explore Mario's past and meanwhile she falls in love with him . Paloma discovers a dark past through their difficult relationship , but the circumstances take unexpected twists and turns . And things go wrong when they are mercilessly pursued by a stranger enemy (Luis Tosar) .

Mystery thriller with plenty of twists , turns and a suspenseful finale . It has a literately witty dialog with distinctive intriguing touches and intelligent writing dealing with the Spanish Transition . The movie contains thriller , tension , suspense , romance , unlimited excitement and plenty of plot twists , similarly to Hitchock films . This is a highly mysterious and cerebral thriller , filled with sneaky turns , including an unexpected denouement in its final part and being efficiently realized . Hitchcock style psychological mystery , being surprisingly good and compellingly directed . The original as well entertaining premise is overspread across the movie adding some brief conventional pitfalls . The picture is based on a thrilling story whose writing credits and adaptation by prestigious writers/filmmakers as Daniela Féjerman , Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón , Inés París and Patricia Ferreira herself and concerning about the psychoanalysis , an usual theme in post-WWII time with titles as ¨Spellbound¨ by Alfred Hitchcock and ¨Secret beyond the door¨ by Fritz Lang . Main cast is frankly excellent . As Ana Fernández as an attractive psychologist who attempts to cure a patient and falls for him , and Miguel Ángel Solá gives a nice acting as a strange ill who suffers from a rare form of amnesia and has temporary lapses of perception . Support cast is pretty well , such as : Roberto Enríquez , Ingrid Rubio , Manuel Manquiña , Mercedes Sampietro , Héctor Alterio , María Bouzas , Jordi Dauder and Vicky Peña .

Colorful and evocative cinematography by José Luis Acaine , considered to be one of the best Spanish cameramen . He was first cinematographer to use fluorescent tube as "key" lightning in the 1970s and frequently works with Pedro Almodóvar and Vicente Aranda , shooting notorious films as ¨Teresa Cuerpo De Cristo¨ , ¨Tirante El Blanco¨ , ¨Caballero Don Quijote¨ , ¨Chica De Rio¨ , Roma , ¨La Puta Y La Ballena¨ , Al Sur De Granada¨ and ¨La Vida De Nadie¨ . Being filmed on location in Segovia , Castilla y León . Suspenseful as well as sensitive musical score by José Nieto . The motion picture was professionally directed by Patricia Ferreira , realizing in moving style and ordinary camera movement . Patricia began working in cinema in the 2000s filming shorts and documentary , and has realized a few films , usually Thrillers and Dramas such as¨ 2005 ¨Para Que no me Olvides¨ , 2002 ¨El Alquimista Impaciente¨ or ¨The Impatient Alchemist¨ and this 2000 ¨Sé Quién Eres¨ .

This is the story of a doctor (Ana Fernandez) and a patient (Miguel Angel Sola) who suffers amnesia. He remembers everything up to 1977 (the action is set in 1999). Secrets hidden and suspense driven in half of the movie but falls flat due to several characters introduced in the second part of the motion picture. But closely to the end the action and thrilling suspense recovers to conclude a good film. Performances: great Ana Fernandez and Sola. The others are fine. But there was no need to include more characters. That's why the screenplay is not as good as it should be. Could have been a very good thriller. Pity. 7 out of 10.