Unknown White Male

2005
6.5| 1h28m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 01 June 2005 Released
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Info

The true story of Doug Bruce who woke up on Coney Island with total amnesia. This documentary follows him as he rediscovers himself and the world around him.

Genre

Documentary

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Cast

Director

Rupert Murray

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Unknown White Male Audience Reviews

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
tabs-7 A fascinating film. I'm surprised to see so much vitriol and skepticism here. I'm fairly cynical and I didn't feel like Doug was faking his condition at all. The obvious emotion he expressed about his time in the psychiatric hospital was very moving and real. It would be very hard - even for an Academy Award winning actor - to fake an emotion that skillfully.I also disagree with the criticisms of the film making itself. The subject matter didn't require a slick documentary or a tidy subjective story. This film was about a friend's experience and had a personal feel to it, which was completely appropriate and worked well.
bob the moo Doug Bruce woke up on a train surrounded by unfamiliar landscapes. He gets off the train and has no idea that he is in Coney Island, not far from his New York apartment. Without any clue as to who he is or where he lives, Doug turns himself into the police who struggle to work out who he is either. With time Doug's wide former social circle of friends means that he is identified and the pieces begin to fall into place. Well, at least for others, for Doug he still has no idea who he is or how his memory loss had occurred.In theory Murray's film should have been fascinating and devastating because the subject matter offers the potential to be engaging (it could happen to you) and emotionally impacting. Sadly Murray single-handedly manages to flush this opportunity down the toilet with a documentary that is little more than a load of footage stung together without any real idea of direction and structure. Conceptually the film is interesting early on as the experts put forward their theories and we start at the beginning. However the film falls flat as it progresses as it appears to have little to add. Watching Doug awkwardly greeting crying friends as if they were strangers gets a it old quickly and it didn't offer much more than that after a while. This minimises the emotional impact of the piece and takes us out of Doug's head.The bigger failure is the total lack of cynicism in the film. I am aware of the articles and others who have scoffed at Doug's claims and I must admit that with some of the claims that lack logic I found myself wondering if he was putting it all on. Indeed some of the inconsistencies in what he can and can't remember did seem a bit handy to me and it was hard for me to not question the situation. Sadly the film never even considers the possibility and this total acceptance of the story takes away from its value as a documentary because it never questions anything. I'm not suggesting Murray needed to keep kicking Doug until he cracked but at least a bit of questioning would have been of value. Doug himself is convincing and mostly I was able to put down the inconsistencies to just being the way things were. However Murray's narration is poor and I couldn't help but wonder how much better the film would have been in someone else's hands.Overall then, an interesting subject but a poor documentary that misses open goals and generally just seems happy to stick with one thread and not offer much in the way of insight, commentary or thought. A real shame when you think of the potential inherent in the material – worth a look for the initial value it has but just don't expect the film to do that much with it.
dominicbrouard Apart from being visually stunning and intercut with photographs and metaphorical imagery it was a real experience to watch. The film has an interesting sound scape that combines powerful music with experimental avant garde and image techniques that made the whole experience a real eye opener. This film was fascinating and very emotive. please ignore the previous review as it doesn't do this film justice. The content of which takes you through a labyrinth of emotions and really raises some powerful questions about what makes a person and their personality.I truly recommend this film to anyone that enjoys good films and documentaries and has a heart. What was interesting to me was that the film really grows with the audience and it will make you laugh, cry, and feel perplexed. Probably important to see on a big screen with decent sound.
jambotembo Thoroughly compelling documentation of the re-emergence of a person. Images and sequences well-photographed and chosen to convey emotional impact; the viewer "feels" this story acutely. A rare medical mystery with no scientific explanation, but perhaps more clear from a spiritual perspective; a blessing in disguise, whereby a person gets to live two lives for the price of one, with potential character improvement. The new Doug appears to have deeper emotional sincerity than the former. What begins as a terrifying disability may in time yield many some enviable advantages. I hope the soundtrack will be made available (a beautifully eerie series of pieces.) P.S., The pretty brunette with the scarf (Nadine ?) has, for lack of a better description, a "scintillating countenance."