Invincible (2001)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer (WGA):

Werner Herzog (written by)

Release Date:

2 December 2001 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A Jewish strongman performs in Berlin as the blond Aryan hero Siegfried.

Plot Keywords:

SS | Storm Trooper | One Word Title | Operation | Nazi Uniform

Cast

Tim Roth	...	Hersche Steinschneider alias Erik Jan Hanussen
Jouko Ahola	...	Zishe Breitbart
Anna Gourari	...	Marta Farra
Max Raabe	...	Master of Ceremonies
Jacob Wein	...	Benjamin Breitbart
Gustav-Peter Wöhler	...	Alfred Landwehr (as Gustav Peter Woehler)
Udo Kier	...	Count Helldorf
Herbert Golder	...	Rabbi Edelmann
Gary Bart	...	Yitzak Breitbart
Renate Krößner	...	Mother Breitbart
Ben-Tzion Hershberg	...	Gershon
Rebecca Wein	...	Rebecca
Raphael Wein	...	Raphael
Daniel Wein	...	Daniel
Chana Wein	...	Chana

Also Known As:

Unbesiegbar (Germany)
Invencible (Argentina) (festival title) (Spain) [es]
A Legyözhetetlen (Hungary) [hu]
Invincibile (Italy) [it]
Invincible (France) [fr]
Invincible, L' (Canada: French title) [fr]
Leyenda del invencible, La (Mexico) (TV title) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and thematic elements.

Runtime:

USA:133 min | UK:133 min | Argentina:133 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Italy:128 min (Venice Film Festival)

Country:

UK | Germany | Ireland | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38406) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | France:U | Germany:6 | UK:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Herzog claimed that if a character was giving a speech to a crowd of people, he would place a suitably-sized crowd there, even though they would not be seen by the camera, claiming, "You can't fake addressing a crowd of people that large."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film is set in 1932, prior to the Nazis coming to power in Germany, yet most of the S.S. and S.A. uniforms show insignia which the Nazis did not use until after Hitler became Chancellor in 1933.

Quotes:

Hanussen: No jew should be as strong as you are.

Movie Connections:

References Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922)

Soundtrack:

Sweet and Lovely

Evocative visuals highlight Herzog's philosophic examination of premonitory Nazism.

The great Werner Herzog uses grandly designed set pieces to deliver a foreboding period piece about the nature of facism in pre-WW2 Berlin. The focus of the story revolves around the opposing philosophies of the sinister, renowned clairvoyant Hanussen, and one of his performers, a naive strongman, lured off the farm to make his fortune in the big city. Needless to say, both of these powerful characters provide the symbolic thrust of Herzog's visionary statement, and he presents them as extreme opposites. Roth really delivers as a refined cynic, while real-life strongman Ahola is a childlike brute, an amateur hero challenging the authority of a professional villain. While parts of the picture are heavy-handed and obvious, it has a refreshing, unsentimental neutrality about it's subject matter, and it's mise-en-scene pleasures are many. My favorite scene follows our hero on his way to Berlin: he's picked up by a couple of farmers, one of them unable to control wild outbursts of laughter as he listens to the naive strongman tell about his dreams. A worthy film in the Herzog repertoire and interesting enough even for non-enthusiasts.