Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival 2009

May 21st, 1990: A mini-van is turning into the parking lot of a shopping centre in Sacramento, California, when a car crashes into it from behind. The driver of the van gets out, examines the damage, and is obviously relieved to see that it is not serious. He then continues on his way with his wife. Seven days later he wakes up in a strange bed next to a woman he’s never seen before. Looking into the mirror, he sees a totally unfamiliar face. Within a few seconds the first forty-five years of this man’s life are erased forever. During the eighteen years that have passed since the fateful accident, a new person has developed: From the “Old Richard,” as the man calls his former self, emerges “New Richard.” He leaves his family and, together with a new girlfriend, embarks upon a completely new life very far removed from his old existence. Filmmaker Rick Minnich is “Old Richard’s” eldest son from his first marriage. Sixteen years after his father’s “new start,” Rick, who now lives in Germany, returns to his California roots to investigate why his father’s memory still hasn’t returned. With the help of his extended patchwork family and old Super 8 home movies, he makes inquiries into his father’s illness and examines the suspicions and rumors that soon arose after the amnesia began. Not only did Richard leave behind a large family and countless memories, but also the distinct impression that something was awry. For years the family had been led to believe that Richard lost his memory due to an injury caused by the car accident. But as the story unfolds and previously unseen medical documents surface, an entirely different picture emerges. Independently of each other, two different doctors came to the same conclusion one year after the amnesia began. They diagnosed Richard with a psychological disorder caused by emotional trauma. But what was the trauma and what caused it? Gradually, from the stories various family members and an old colleague tell him, Rick forms a picture of a father he hardly recognises: an unfaithful man who couldn’t hold down a job, who beat his children and who was entangled in a bank fraud. With all the pressure Richard was apparently under during the years leading up to the car accident, trauma-induced amnesia begins to seem entirely plausible. Or was he consciously fleeing his old life? Nobody knows what really happened to Richard after the accident. Neither the family of his second wife nor his old family. They are all confronted with an event they had difficulty coping with then, and which continues to haunt them. To this day, Richard has refused to give his son an interview and lives far away in a remote corner of Oregon with his new wife. Now, together with his half-brother Justin, Rick embarks upon the long journey to “New Richard” to find out what really happened, and to pose the decisive question: Does he really not remember them at all? Rick Minnich’s search for his father and his father’s story are multi-faceted, subtle, and as enthralling as a detective story. The film leaves a strong emotional impact on viewers thanks to the very direct and personal insight it gives into the feelings of a family dealing with this traumatic situation in very different ways. But this is more than a family film: Using the personal story of this man and his family as a vehicle, the film investigates the universal themes of the construction of one’s own reality and identity.