Olivier, Olivier

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Olivier, Olivier ★★★ 1992 (R)

Holland's directorial follow-up to “Europa, Europa” is based on a 1984 French newspaper story and evokes “The Return of Martin Guerre” and its update, “Sommersby.” Beloved nine-year-old boy disappears from his home in a small French town and his dysfunctional family falls apart. Mom obsesses and falls into trances, dad escapes to North Africa, and sister Nadine develops telekinetic powers in order to cope. Six years later a detective brings an amnesiac teenager, who has been working as a hustler in Paris, to the boy's family. Is it the missing Olivier? Spooky, provocative, and emotionally resonate. In French with English subtitles. 110m/C VHS . FR Francois Cluzet, Brigitte Rouan, Gregoire Colin, Marina Golovine, Jean-Francois Stevenin, Emmanuel Morozof, Faye Gatteau, Frederic Quiring; D: Agnieszka Holland; W: Agnieszka Holland. L.A. Film Critics ‘93: Score.