Unknown White Male

Amnesia has long been a staple of movies, but few films have cut to the bone like the modest documentary Unknown White Male, which tells the frightening yet fascinating story of director Rupert Murray's acquaintance Doug Bruce, a well-to-do British photographer living in New York City who suddenly found himself on the subway without any memory of who he was or what he was doing. The film recreates Bruce's experience of going to the police and hospital for help, gradually discovering—or rediscovering—his still-mysterious past, and reconnecting with friends and family he doesn't recall in the slightest. The most affecting aspect of the picture is watching Bruce emerge as a new person, confronting the world with a sort of childish innocence and exuberance that contrasts with his previous rather cynical frat-boy persona. Interviews with people who must acclimate themselves to the new Doug, together with clips featuring medical and psychological experts commenting on his condition, are intercut with footage of Bruce himself. Though essentially a single case study, the film inevitably raises the broader issue of what makes a person who he or she is—and whether we are, in fact, the sum of our memories, and cease to have an identity if we lose them. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the 11-minute “making-of” featurette “Visualizing Memory,” “The Experts: Extended Interviews” (10 min.), an eight-minute “Where Is He Now?” update featurette, a six-minute Q&A with director Rupert Murray and producer Beadie Finzi, “The Man Before Amnesia: Interview with Friends” (6 min.), the original “Sand Dune Sequence” (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine documentary.] (F. Swietek)