The Believer (2001)

Director:

Henry Bean

Writers:

Henry Bean (screenplay)
Henry Bean (story) ...

Release Date:

23 August 2001 (Russia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young Jewish man develops a fiercely anti-Semitic worldview. Based on the true story of a KKK member in the 1960s who was revealed to be Jewish by a New York Times reporter.

Plot Keywords:

Self Loathing | Reporter | New York City | Judaism | New York Times

Awards:

5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Ryan Gosling	...	Danny Balint
Peter Meadows	...	Orthodox Student
Garret Dillahunt	...	Billings
Kris Eivers	...	Carleton
Joel Garland	...	O.L.
Billy Zane	...	Curtis Zampf
Theresa Russell	...	Lina Moebius
Summer Phoenix	...	Carla Moebius
Jack Drummond	...	Old Coot
Sig Libowitz	...	Rav Zingesser
James G. McCaffrey	...	Young Avi
Jacob Green	...	Young Danny
Frank Winters	...	Young Stuart
Ronald Guttman	...	Danny's Father
Heather Goldenhersh	...	Linda

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:18 | Brazil:14 | France:U | Peru:18 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Fuller Films

Trivia:

Critically acclaimed, grand-jury prize winner at Sundance Festival in January 2001, then appeared on Showtime pay-cable in March 2002, before finally being released theatrically in NYC, May 2002.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the DVD version, the words "a decade" are silent in the phrase "The Thousand-Year Reich barely lasted a decade..." even though Zampf is still mouthing it.

Quotes:

Young Danny: I'm the only one who does believe. I see him for the power-drunk madman he is. And we're supposed to worship such a deity? I say never.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Anatomy of a Scene: The Believer" (????)

Well done considering the subject matter

As far as I'm concerned, there's isn't a better movie about anti-semitism and youth as "American History X" but this movie came close. I was surprised to see young Gosling pull off and really out-perform himself in this role. Excellent writing with a fantastic group of young, talented actors. Definitely worth seeing.

8/10