Adam Resurrected

In the aftermath of WWII, a former circus entertainer who was spared from the gas chamber becomes the ringleader at an asylum for Holocaust survivors.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Yoram Kaniuk (novel), Noah Stollman (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Cristian Motiu

Storyline

"Adam Resurrected" follows the story of Adam Stein, a charismatic patient at a mental institution for Holocaust survivors in Israel, 1961. He reads minds and confounds his doctors, lead by Nathan Gross. Before the war, in Berlin, Adam was an entertainer--cabaret impresario, circus owner, magician, musician--loved by audiences and Nazis alike until he finds himself in a concentration camp, confronted by Commandant Klein. Adam survives the camp by becoming the Commandant's "dog", entertaining him while his wife and daughter are sent off to die. Years later we find him at the Institute. one day, Adam smells something, hears a sound. "Who brought a dog in here?" he asks Gross. Gross denies there is a dog but Adam finds him--a young boy raised in a basement on a chain. Adam and the boy see and recognize each other as dogs--and their journey begins. "Adam Resurrected" is the story of a man who once was a dog who meets a dog who once was a boy.

Version 1

User Reviews

 

A story about survivor's guilt

6 August 2009 | by ZenShark (Pakistan) – See all my reviews

I am surprised at the hatefully negative reviews this movie has gotten. But then I suppose anything that handles a truly dark subject matter, and doesn't spoon feed the audience doesn't get much praise.

This movie is excellent with excellent performances. I didn't mind the accent because it doesn't matter. The meaning of the movie, and the metaphors of film employed are brilliant.

The movie details the struggle of a former circus performer and celebrity with his guilt over surviving his family in the holocaust. Goldblum portrays a man who finds insanity more comfortable then sanity, because sanity brings with it sad truths.