Il paziente

No pun intended - also is not the past that forms us? That has made us the person we are today? Of course if something terrible and quite life altering has happened ... shouldn't we try to deal with it? And this is exactly what is going on here. I would not say that the movie has a twist for me towards the end, though you may feel different. I just know that the movie is well told and well acted.

If you had a trauma and your mind does not want to remember - well what to do? The thriller part of this is nice I reckon, but you can tell it was made for tv I reckon ... seen worse though - but this could have been tighter pacing wise. Still a nice movie overall (no pun intended here either)

This movie was interesting enough. It had a decent enough premise for the plot. A young boy is the only survivor of the brutal murder of his family. After that point he ends up in a hospital and the whole film is him exploring his past with his psycotrist. I will say it felt a little easy to figure out what was going to happen in the end but it did feel like something else could happen. That was not the case and it made the film feel a little dissapoiting. I wont say the film was terrible. It was good it just had terrible dialog in places but the acting was ok. Overall this was a movie you dont have to think to hard about but it was enjoyable enough to watch.

This is a fascinating but also very intricate film. Main character Thomas awakes in a hospital after having been 3 years in coma, ever since he was found severely wounded as the only surviver amidst his murdered family. Along with Thomas we try to find out what happened, why it happened, and who was responsible. The movie continuously provides tiny fragments, that are alternately short realistic flashbacks or Thomas's interpretations thereof, or they are the product of his imagination or delusions. We see a psychiatrist patiently trying to help him to get his memory back. Very gradually the harsh truth begins to dawn on him and on us, although I have to admit that for a long time I did't see the major plot twist and the ultimate conclusion coming.

The acting of especially Txomin Vergez is really excellent, the movie is slow paced but the tension never sags, and it kept me on the edge of my chair until the very end. It was a great relief that the story came up in the end with the needed answers (in nowadays cinema there's a pretentious tendency to keep you dangling in some sort of limbo at the end of a mystery movie!), but there were still some things that eluded me: why was the psychiatrist walking with a crutch? What was the function of fellow patient Bastien? They seemed to be both victims of an accident, so maybe that was it?

Anyway: an impressive and intriguing, well acted movie that stayed in my head for a long time.

As this French drama opens a family is found massacred in their home. Three years later nineteen year old survivor Thomas awakes from a coma. The psychologist caring for him tells him that he is the sole survivor and that his sister hasn't been seen since those events. She encourages him to try to remember just what happened while he is also undergoing physiotherapy. Gradually he, and we, learn just what happened that day.

I thought this was a decent drama. It is fairly slow burn and doesn't provide as many surprises as I suspects its makers think. I'm sure most viewers will have suspected how it will end long before the 'big reveal'. That said it managed to keep me interested throughout. The cast is solid, especially Txomin Vergez, who plays Thomas. There is a good atmosphere with limited settings giving it an almost theatrical feel at times. Overall a solid enough film; not a must see but worth a watch if you are a fan of French films.

These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

Like so many other movies, it sounds promising. There are moments when you feel it might actually be... good. Alas. It's not terrible. Just boring. I struggled to keep my eyes open more than with most "thrillers."

The acting is fair to middling. The plot twist was predictable. Perhaps I watch too many films but I guessed this twist long before I probably should have.

Do yourself a favor and watch "High Tension" instead. That one is simply brilliant and packs a serious punch. I bring this up because "Le patient" clearly was influenced or inspired by "High Tension." Sadly, it couldn't even come close.