Invincible (2001)

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

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Jouko Ahola, Tim Roth, Anna Gourari

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Roth	...	Herschel Steinschneider / 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

Storyline

The film is based on the true story of Zishe Breitbart, a Jewish blacksmith's son from Poland who becomes a sensation in Weimar, Berlin as a mythical strongman. His employer Hanussen dreams of establishing an all-powerful Ministry of the Occult in Hitler's government. Yet as Hitler's hold on power grows more sure, and Berlin erupts in a ferment of anti-Semitism, Zishe must decide how he will use his strength. Plagued by nightmares, he takes counsel from a local rabbi. He becomes convinced that he has been chosen by God to warn his people of the grave danger they face.

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Plot Keywords:

strongman | jewish | blacksmith | rabbi | poland | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and thematic elements

Details

Country:

UK Germany Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 2002 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Invencible

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,293, 22 September 2002

Gross USA:

$80,636

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Tatfilm, Little Bird

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min 128 min 125 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An elderly woman who lived in one of the houses near where the marketplace scenes were shot, once stepped out into it with a shopping bag and, even though director Werner Herzog told her it was just a movie set, insisted on shopping and interrupted the shoot for 15 minutes.

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Goofs

The actual Zishe Breitbart died on October 12 1925, almost eight years before the events of the film. In the film he dies on January 28, 1933, "only two days before Hitler's ascent to power". This inaccuracy is a deliberate choice and should be regarded as "poetic license" on the part of the director.

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Quotes

Zishe Breitbart: [after outlifting and defeating a circus strongman in hand-to-hand] I can do more! I can do more!

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to The People of Kuldiga and The People of Vilnius

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Connections

References Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)

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Soundtracks

Ombra mai fù
(1738)
from the opera "Serse"
Music by George Frideric Handel (as G.F. Händel)
Sung by Emmi Leisner
(recorded 1927)

User Reviews

A film of astonishing power and imagery

Tim Roth gives an extraordinary performance as Hanussan, the charlatan occultist with a deep dark secret in 1932 Germany. Jouko Ahola (a World's Strongest Man competitor) has a charming, gentle innocence that is perfectly suited for the role of Zishe Breitbart. Ahola's Breitbart is a naive, small town strongman tortured by visions of a horrible future event

• a Holocaust which he can neither comprehend nor explain to his fellow Jews. Ahola's physicality, warmth and childlike kindness is reminiscent of Andre the Giant's performance in The Princess Bride. The film benefits from a wonderful and thoroughly engaging script by Werner Herzog. Roth's character, especially, has two beautifully crafted monologues towards the film's end which are absolutely staggering in their power and intensity. Well worth watching.