Adam Resurrected (2008)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Yoram Kaniuk (novel)
Noah Stollman (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

In a world gone mad, being insane was just a way to fit in.

Plot:

In the aftermath of WWII, a former circus entertainer who was spared from the gas chamber becomes the ringleader at an asylum for Holocaust survivors.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Circus | Holocaust | Concentration Camp | Nazi

Cast

Jeff Goldblum	...	Adam Stein
Willem Dafoe	...	Commandant Klein
Derek Jacobi	...	Dr. Nathan Gross
Ayelet Zurer	...	Gina Grey
Hana Laszlo	...	Rachel Shwester
Joachim Król	...	Abe Wolfowitz
Jenya Dodina	...	Gretchen Stein (as Evgenia Dodina)
Tudor Rapiteanu	...	David
Veronica Ferres	...	Frau Fogel
Idan Alterman	...	Arthur
Juliane Köhler	...	Ruth Edelson
Dror Keren	...	Dr. Uri Slonim
Shmuel Edelman	...	Dr. Shapiro (as Schmuel Edelman)
Yoram Toledano	...	Tarshish (as Yoram Tolledano)
Mickey Leon	...	Golomb

Also Known As:

Adam Ben Kelev (Israel: Hebrew title)
Ein Leben für ein Leben - Adam Resurrected (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some disturbing behavior, sexuality, nudity and some language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Germany | USA | Israel

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade)

Filming Locations:

Castel Film Studios, Bucharest, Romania

Company:

July August Productions

Trivia:

Moni Moshonov was cast as Arthur but had to drop due to schedule conflict and was replaced by comedian-actor Idan Alterman.

Quotes:

Adam Stein: I live in a lovely valley, but the heights are gone forever. There are no more frightful deserts, and I no longer leap into the fire, I am afraid I will get burned. Sanity is pleasant and calm, but there is no greatness, no true joy, nor the awful sorrow that slashes the heart.

Beautiful, Dark, Torrid and Powerful

I witnessed the triumph of this film from the beginning to end but, it was not an easy road for me to get at that state of mind. It starts slowly like an orchestra and wraps up in a crescendo of rebirth. I was uncomfortable at times with some scenes yet I felt they were completely relevant to the story line. This film's premise and subject matter is very torrid and twisted yet poetically bouts between the absurd and metaphorical. If I could compare this to a painting it would be a prime example of Picasso's cubism through the eyes of a camera; If I can dare to compare it. Jeff Goldboom's performance was serious and perfect for this role. Although sometimes, I could not help but to think of his past roles while I was seeing this but, that's just me. He was majestic and I though it was genius. I don't react favorably to tortured protagonists yet this time it was different. For the most part this character was a borderline martyr to his life, his family and duress; in every sense of the word. It's so beautifully done, with the simplicity of the mis- en-scence and the use of free from that it was hard to digest yet a delight. This is a must watch. Jeff my hat's off to you and to the director that put this very difficult adaptation into motion with such great of a success.