Customer Reviews

Adam Resurrected [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After a close friend "insisted" that I watch this film, I was absolutely torn apart by it, at times entertained by it and left with indelible images and feelings that may never leave me. It is a stunningly woven story of humanity at the peak of its potential for courage and resilience, as well as its unspeakable cruelty and taste for inflicting pain. I was startled, however, to discover that I was in the minority in my assessment. Most reviews, professional and otherwise, are either mixed or unfavorable. Is it too hard to take this film in? And if so, is it because of its intellectual or emotional demands - or both? As a psychologist and a Jew, let me say that I have never been made to feel the complex horrors of the holocaust on this level. Jeff Goldblum's performance is criminally unrecognized; it is the work of genius he has never before manifested. Perhaps the genius Goldblum found in the story itself, and in Paul Schrader's direction moved him to new heights. The rest of the cast is brilliant as well.

Adam Resurrected deals unflinchingly with the excruciating, bitterly ironic issues that Hitler's slaughterhouses have evoked in the area of faith and the Jewish attitude toward the God whose deliverance of their ancestors from slavery is celebrated year after year. The ironies and metaphors throughout the film involving men and dogs say more than any words of praise could possibly express.

Suffice it to say that this is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest films of the last decade, and perhaps the best work of art on the holocaust of all time. It is demanding, complex and disturbing, but highly worth your time and attention.

This masterpiece by Paul Schrader (who is not Jewish, but Pennsylvania-Dutch in origin, though you would not
know it from this work of art) is subliminal and heartbreaking on so many levels. I won't say this is
Jeff Goldblum's best performance because he has had several poor peformances; thus, it is impossible to
compare his phenomenal metaphysical psychotic discourse in this film to all his other mundane (whether
good or not so good) performances. The rest of the cast is stellar. The young boy ('dog') in the film
is heartbreaking. This film is not for the lighthearted or the impatient, nor is it for those seeking
easy answers or quik Hollywood cliches and fixes as it provides none. This film is wretched and
beautiful, painful and sublime and corroborates (though I doubt it needed confirmation) Paul Schrader
as a masterful Director and artist for the thinking adult and the scared child within. The anticipated
Academy Award's avoidance of this film is the degree of measure by which to judge its artistry and
profoundity. If you could imagine a collaboration by Luis Bunuel, Federico Fellini, Joel and Ethan Coen
and David Cronenberg, it would like something like this, and that is NO small compliment to Schrader
and what he has done here.

I had to wait a few days in writing this review as I wanted to try and figure out everything I just saw, plus the special features take some patience.

Jeff Goldblum plays a death camp survivor that has been committed to an asylum (years after the war) for survivors in Israel. Willem Dafoe plays the Nazi officer who tortures him, with some excellent supporting performances by Ayelet Zurer and Derek Jacobi. The story spans 40 years and is told in a non-lineal format crossing between black and white and color. The Blu clarity is outstanding at times, grainy in others but those scenes are made to be that way, otherwise the entire production has a high budget feel but simple at the same time. The DTS is used very well, and gets utilized in ways one would not expect from a Holocaust film (the cabaret scenes, the echoing barks in the asylum halls, the narration, etc.). The special features are a long watch and include:
* Behind the scenes, 24 minutes: A thorough interview/film splice featurette that covers the entire production and the minds behind the film, if you have only a little time to watch everything this would be the extra to see.
* Deleted scenes, 9:30 minutes: The last half of these are more of a cutting room floor add-on and are dry. The only scene worth checking is the first one as it adds a whole other dynamic between Dafoe/Goldblum (post holocaust) that is never alluded to in the film.
* Haifa Film Festival Q&A, 72 minutes: Catered to the hardcore film fans that can sit through a hour+ of ESL participants, bad sound and garbled speeches. I tried to understand what was being said but it gets tedious, still some great inspiration and production info, but the making of covers it better.

By far, Goldblum's best performance to date - a pinnacle in his career. The imagery and disturbing asylum elements make for a difficult watch. I cannot be sure how to recommend this other than to say be prepared for an unusual character film on a solid BD. Region coded A, lasts 96 minutes and is a hard R for every theme listed.

ADAM RESURRECTED is a strange, mesmerizing art film adapted from Yoram Kaniuk's novel 'Adam Ben Kelev' ('Man, Son of a Dog'), adapted for the screen by Noah Stollman, and brilliantly directed by Paul Schrader, whose contributions to the art of film include writing and/or directing such important works as 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull', 'Affliction', 'The Last Temptation of Christ', Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters', 'American Gigolo', etc. It is another examination of the effects of the Holocaust of the survivors but with such a different twist and graced with some magnificent performances that it stands with the finest films that deal with this subject.

Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum, in an astonishingly fine portrayal) prior to the beginnings of WW II was a highly successful Berlin impresario of a 'Circus' - a cabaret act where he performed acts of magic, comedy, playing the violin, mind reading, doing acts of dagger throwing with his daughter and wife in assistance - a comedian beloved by all his countrymen including the Nazis. When the film opens we are in Tel Aviv in the year 1961 and the mentally disturbed Adam is an on again off again patient in an insane asylum for Holocaust victims, a center of continued 'experiments by a staff of physicians (headed by Dr. Gross - Derek Jacobi and an attendant bizarre nurse Gina - Ayelet Zurer, in love with Adam) who are intimidated by the genius quality of Adam and his ability to keep the inmates happy. In a series of flashbacks (in black and white) to 1926, 1932, and 1944 we see Adam in concentration camps, still entertaining his fellow Jews and asked to play his violin for the Jews who are being escorted into the ovens for cremation. He is observed by Commandant Klein (Willem DaFoe) who had once been entertained by Adam's circus act and later with Adam a prisoner in the concentration camp has Adam act like a dog for Klein's entertainment, a particularly painful duty when later, in the asylum in Israel Adam discovers that Dr. Gross is keeping a young boy on a chain, treating him like a real dog. The relationship between man and dog and dog and dog and man and boy is complex and heartbreakingly somber. The implications and plays within plays that fill this film demand the fell attention of the viewer.

Many of the numerous aspects that enhance Paul Schrader's expert telling of this strange story include Gabriel Yared's musical score (with a lot of help from Wagner's 'Tannhauser' and Schubert lieder as sung by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf), the brilliant costuming of actor Jeff Goldblum, and the many small roles in this film filled by some of Germany's and Israel's most gifted actors. But towering over it all is the compelling performance by Jeff Goldblum who has created a character on film that once seen will never be forgotten. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 11

I've seen just about every major work of bad boy provocateur (whether he was the writer, director or both) Paul Schrader through the years--and while not every film has been an unqualified triumph, they have had the ability to push boundaries and challenge conventional film narrative. I was, thus, quite surprised to have been completely unaware of his last directorial endeavor "Adam Resurrected." With its dark and controversial story line, this film seemed a perfect compliment to the Schrader oeuvre of emotionally complex and daring films. What might have been a harrowing and horrific examination of a tortured psyche, however, lends itself to a contrived surrealism and black humor which de-emphasized and mitigated any potential emotional impact the film might have had. With all seriousness, I fully have plans to locate and read the source novel--because this is, easily, one of the most intriguing stories I've encountered in quite some time! I so want to say that "Adam Resurrected" is an undiscovered master work (and indeed, the proponents of the film are vocal and effusive), but ultimately for me--it just never struck the right tone.

Jeff Goldblum, in pure hyper-kinetic Goldblum-ism, plays a Holocaust survivor inhabiting a secluded institute whose patients have all endured the Nazi atrocities. This experimental facility, however, is populated by misfits straight out of central casting. Instead of crafting real personages, the various inmates are all quirky madcap stereotypes of movie nut cases--the kind meant to provoke laughter and amusement, not to elicit feelings of genuine emotion or sympathy. The thoroughly unappealing Goldblum is the star of the institute whom, of course, everyone loves for his free spirit. The doctors and staff simply let Goldblum and his cohorts meander about with no supervision and zero treatment, I'm not really sure what's going on in this supposed hospital-like environment. The absolute low point is the rather tawdry assignation Goldblum has with the head nurse. In and of itself, the idea fascinated me but because the two have no chemistry at all--it was just distractingly unbelievable.

When a boy who has been conditioned to act like a dog enters the facility, it reawakens the nightmare of Goldblum's past. Goldblum, a comedic performer, was adopted by his Nazi commandant (Willem Dafoe) to play the part of house pet in the camps even as his family faced a more uncertain future. So Goldblum has a chance at connecting with the boy and redeeming his soul. Make no mistake--this is POWERFUL, POWERFUL material that might have been devastating in its impact. Instead, things play out in fairly conventional ways--and, unfortunately, the boy is never a real character but a prop for Goldblum's emotional journey. But amidst all the unrelenting surrealism and outright wackiness, a true story of heart wrenching revelation is dispelled and lost forever.

I repeat, no one could have wanted to admire and appreciate this film more than I. What an incredible story! As is, there is still a touching moment or two--but it's too little, too late and it pales in comparison to what the film should have made me feel. Goldblum is fine, I suppose, but doesn't particularly strive for anything other than over-the-top theatrics. No other cast member is developed beyond more than a punchline--aside, perhaps, from Dafoe who acquits himself well with a somewhat limited role. Schrader, here, misses a subtlety (okay, maybe not his strong suit) and realism (which is) necessary to develop a true cinematic masterpiece. An awkward tone that doesn't work as effective black comedy or genuine drama, the film made me apathetic by the end for its inherent lack of realness. A big disappointment, I look forward to checking out the book. KGHarris, 3/11.

As the son of a Survivor of the Shoah, I have seen many films about the Holocaust and read many books, both documentary and fiction. I have rarely been so deeply affected as with ADAM, RESURRECTED, Jeff Goldblum's unknown tour-de-force performance. Goldblum plays the brilliant Adam. Before the War, Adam was a professional clown. During the War, he is sent to a Concentration Camp, where the Kommandant (Willem DaFoe) forces him to be his pet---literally. Adam must bark, he must beg, he must eat from a bowl on the floor. In return, Adam is scratched behind the ear, given dog treats, and allowed to live.

Adam survives the War in the Kommandant's villa, while outside, the Holocaust takes its terrible toll, consuming even Adam's family, whom the Kommandant refuses to spare. After the War, Adam emigrates to Israel where he is hospitalized in a special facility for psychiatrically disturbed Holocaust Survivors located in the isolation of the Negev Desert.

Much of ADAM, RESURRECTED addresses the mocking disdain that many Israelis felt for Survivors in the years just after the War. The general consensus in the 1950s and early 1960s was that the women survived as prostitutes; the men were presumed to have survived by collaborating. Knowing that his family has died, Adam is wracked with guilt. He occasionally falls into a deep, dark cruelty against his fellow patients. Adam faces mental abuse and emotional neglect at the hands of his new countrymen. The moment when some young children tell Adam to, "Go back to Europe, you old soap," tears at the soul.

Adam's "resurrection" truly begins when he discovers a young boy, David, living under a bed in the hospital, lost, as Adam had been lost, in being a dog. It is Adam's halting attempts to bring young David back to life amongst humanity that resurrect him and allow him to face the horrors of his own past.

This is a disturbing, unrelievedly dark film that is an important addition to the canon of films about the Holocaust. Though it is painful to watch, this film needs to be seen and contemplated by anyone posessed of a human conscience and consciousness.

I wanted to watch this movie because it starred Jeff Goldblum. Some friends warned me that it was disturbing, but I barreled on. As it turned out, yes, it did disturb because it depicted abuse by a Nazi officer on a Jewish comedian during the war. I am no stranger to Nazi / Holocaust movies, and I will never become numb when I see these atrocities depicted. Thankfully, the war scenes were backstory, and (as we are remind in the special features) this is a fiction story. The people aren't real and the situation and hospital are not real. That is some comfort.

Goldblum's character, Adam, was a famous German/Jewish comedian before Hitler and then ended up in a camp, divided from his family. His Nazi CO forced him to act like a dog the whole time he was there, on hands and knees, eating from dog bowls, sleeping in the kennel, the whole nine yards. But the bulk of the movie takes place in a fictional Israeli hospital for Holocaust survivors who have gone around the bend. Also, Adam is a little psychically precognitive...

I won't do anymore synopsis, but just let me say that the acting of all players is superb, the writing bang-on, and Jeff speaks Hebrew, Yiddish, German and English like he was born to do so. Amazing.

Because of the Hebrew/Jewish influence, Jewish people like me and my family will get the most out of this film, but like most Israeli films, it's utter brilliance makes it shine as brightly as any Hollywood made film.

5-stars
Rated R for language and some (groping) sex scenes.

Ellen C Maze
Author of Curiously Spiritual Vampire Tales
[...]

Goldblum's best work ever. Strange and funny at the same time is not often entertaining.

In movies that I have seen Jeff Goldblum in I never thought of him much more than a fly on the set, but he is really, and I mean really, good in this movie. In fact he gives an Oscar caliber performance.

My knees buckle when comedy's scrupulously interjected into the midst of extreme tragedy of the Holocaust scale. Last time I've seen a movie like this was Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful.

Goldblum's character, Adam Stein, was a very successful comedy producer in Berlin in the 1930's. He owned a theater that even Nazis frequented to enjoy their time there. Although he saw the dark side of the Nazi regime as early as 1936, when a bunch of Nazi soldiers entered backstage and killed his show bear, he did not take his family and leave Germany. Fast forward to 1944, he and his family are seen in a train, which is on its way to a concentration camp. Fast forward to 1960s, he is now in an Israeli institute in the middle of a desert specifically designed to rehabilitate concentration camp survivors.

Stein's story is getting back on life's track.

I am so glad that I bought this movie and watched it last night. It is solidly in the top 25 of the 1,400 in my collection. Unless you are too sensitive to handle a "Gripping, Horrific, and Beautiful" movie experience, watch it at least once. I'm certain to watch it again, once my vivid memories of it begin to fade a little.

Regards,
Ed