neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Bourne Identity
	Doug Liman Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles 2002		Amnesia is trouble, particularly when all you know about your true identity is that you're a target for assassins and you're on the run from the police wherever you go. This is the plight of Jason Bourne, the character expertly played by Matt Damon ("The Talented Mr. Ripley") in the taut, adult spy thriller derived from Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity." Bourne is rescued unconscious from the Mediterranean by fishermen. He quickly recovers; he's physically and mentally agile, but he doesn't know who he is. His quest for the truth leads him from Marseilles to Zurich to Paris. It's a violent odyssey that puts Bourne and his traveling companion, an innocent girl named Maria, at risk. Franka Potente, the earthy German actress from "Run, Lola, Run," is Maria. Her chemistry with Damon is evident, and he's at his best. Director Doug Liman enhances his impressive résumé ("Go," "Swingers") with his work here, keeping things tense and mysterious and overseeing a slam-bang conclusion.