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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Werner Herzog: the curtain puller at the Palace of the Occult.

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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

Follows Hanussen (1955)

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Soundtracks

You're the Cream in My Coffee
(1928)
Music by Ray Henderson
Lyrics by Lew Brown and Buddy G. DeSylva (as B.G. de Sylva)
Performed by Max Raabe and his Palast Orchestra
Published by Chappell & Co Inc. / Ray Henderson Music / Stephen Ballentine Music / Redwood Music Ltd.
Courtesy of Chappell & Co GmbH / Greenhorn Musikverlag GmbH

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

UK Germany Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 2002 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Invincible

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,293, 22 September 2002

Gross USA:

$81,954

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$180,616

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