Sometimes an amnesiac is too scared to remember who she is. In Luis Saslavsky’s La corona negra (US: Black Crown), Mara Russell (María Félix) is discovered dazed and confused in a Morocco bar by the handsome Andrés (Rossano Brazzi) who has met her before and knows her wealthy husband has recently died. Drawn to Mara and sympathetic to her plight, Andrés slowly helps her rediscover her identity, but each revelation brings unwelcome news about her past, like her extramarital affair with the violent Mauricio (Vittorio Gassman) and her burying of stolen jewels, which puts both Mara and Andrés in increasing danger. Based on an original story by the surrealist Jean Cocteau, the film feels like one long dream right from the opening sequence in which human hands rise out of the desert sand to reach for Mara while vultures circle overhead and a skeleton rides by on a horse; moments later, she’s being chased by a dwarf and cringing at the sight of scissors. High-angle and diagonal shots add to the film’s eeriness, while Félix’s facial expression remains a fearful, wistful gaze throughout the film’s duration, which feels about fifteen minutes too long.