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The Believer
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The Believer (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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The Believer (2001) -- 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.

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   9,479 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Henry Bean
Writers:
Henry Bean (screenplay)
Henry Bean (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Believer on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 August 2001 (Russia) more
Genre:
Drama more
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. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 9 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Opening This Week
 (From IFC. 5 May 2008, 8:14 AM, PDT)

Bean doubles 'Down by the River'
 (From ioncinema. 31 July 2007)

User Comments:
Ryan Gosling -- Superstar! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexual content.
Runtime:
102 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Hebrew
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USA
Company:
Fuller Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Inspired by the story of Dan Burros, an American Jew, who joined (and left) the American Nazi Party, and then joined the United Klans of America (KKK). Not unlike "the Believer", when a journalist unmasked Burros, he killed himself. "The Believer" takes this as a springboard though, and many of the other details are quite different. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Danny (Ryan Gosling's character) sings the Jewish prayer known as "The Sh'ma," he mispronounces two of the Hebrew words. He says "YIZ-ra-el" with a Z sound instead of an S, and "El-OO-hay-noo" with an OO sound in the second syllable instead of an O. The Sh'ma is a cornerstone prayer in Judaism, and given the character's religious background and studies, he would never mispronounce these words. more
Quotes:
Daniel Balint: Just take a look at the last three most well-known Jews - Marx, Freud, and Einstein. What have they given us? Communism, infantile sexuality, and the atom bomb. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in A Conversation with... Director Henry Bean (2003) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 20 people found the following comment useful:-
Ryan Gosling -- Superstar!, 23 April 2003
8/10
Author: Bryce Rumbles from Baltimore, Maryland

I think I first saw Mr. Gosling in Murder by Numbers, in which he played half of a modern-day Leopold and Loeb murder team. In that good-but-not-great thriller, he did a fine job with an easy role: the smarmy manipulator who's convinced his Intellect is so superior to everyone else's that he has the right -- no, the obligation -- to kill those inferior to himself.

In The Believer, Gosling plays the young fascist who really seems to believe the antisemitic vitrol he spews. His skinhead punk is just as scary, believable and *common* as Edward Norton's in American History X -- with the added layer of being from an Orthodox background. He has apparently convinced those around him that his fascination with all things Judaic is only an effort to "know his enemy thoroughly" -- nothing more.

Gosling is nothing short of astounding in this role. He richly deserves all the honors bestowed upon him. If he continues to only get roles like Murder by Numbers, it will be a waste of a wonderful natural resource, kind of like strip mining in Yellowstone.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Danny's motivation ellysway
Do skinheads like this film ? blakeclassic
can you milk a chicken? shubatri
do you think drake was jewish? preciouslilywhite
balint is not a german name! zsozso87
trivia section mokoko
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