BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

NobBoffin I read all the reviews for this film and I have to agree with someone who once said that rectums and opinions are something that everyone shares. The film was not liked by some for not displaying what they thought it should. I liked it because it resonated with me on a certain level.Earlier this week I was riding a streetcar in Toronto and saw a number of homeless people begging on the streets, and wondered why are they there and I am here. I am not that ambitious or a go getter but somehow I have survived the last twenty years of economic downturns, where they did not.That point comes up in this film, the protagonist is haunted by the fact that he survived where so many did not. It also made me think for the first time in my life, the survivors of the death camps must have had some severe mental heath issues, a theme I do not think has been addressed much in the past with the exception of the Pawn Broker.The film really did hit home and regardless if you think the theme of the holocaust has been done to death, (as one Danish reviewer did) this film had a different slant on it. It made me think deeply about things that frankly never occurred to me before.For that reason I rate this film high not because I think the other earlier reviewers are wrong but simply because I saw it differently.A good film, it might be disturbing, it might annoy but watch it at least once.

gradyharp ADAM RESURRECTED is a strange, mesmerizing art film adapted from Yoram Kaniuk's novel 'Adam Ben Kelev' ('Man, Son of a Dog'), adapted for the screen by Noah Stollman, and brilliantly directed by Paul Schrader, whose contributions to the art of film include writing and/or directing such important works as 'Taxi Driver', 'Raging Bull', 'Affliction', 'The Last Temptation of Christ', Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters', 'American Gigolo', etc. It is another examination of the effects of the Holocaust of the survivors but with such a different twist and graced with some magnificent performances that it stands with the finest films that deal with this subject. Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum, in an astonishingly fine portrayal) prior to the beginnings of WW II was a highly successful Berlin impresario of a 'Circus' - a cabaret act where he performed acts of magic, comedy, playing the violin, mind reading, doing acts of dagger throwing with his daughter and wife in assistance - a comedian beloved by all his countrymen including the Nazis. When the film opens we are in Tel Aviv in the year 1961 and the mentally disturbed Adam is an on again off again patient in an insane asylum for Holocaust victims, a center of continued 'experiments by a staff of physicians (headed by Dr. Gross - Derek Jacobi and an attendant bizarre nurse Gina - Ayelet Zurer, in love with Adam) who are intimidated by the genius quality of Adam and his ability to keep the inmates happy. In a series of flashbacks (in black and white) to 1926, 1932, and 1944 we see Adam in concentration camps, still entertaining his fellow Jews and asked to play his violin for the Jews who are being escorted into the ovens for cremation. He is observed by Commandant Klein (Willem DaFoe) who had once been entertained by Adam's circus act and later with Adam a prisoner in the concentration camp has Adam act like a dog for Klein's entertainment, a particularly painful duty when later, in the asylum in Israel Adam discovers that Dr. Gross is keeping a young boy on a chain, treating him like a real dog. The relationship between man and dog and dog and dog and man and boy is complex and heartbreakingly somber. The implications and plays within plays that fill this film demand the fell attention of the viewer. Many of the numerous aspects that enhance Paul Schrader's expert telling of this strange story include Gabriel Yared's musical score (with a lot of help from Wagner's 'Tannhauser' and Schubert lieder as sung by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf), the brilliant costuming of actor Jeff Goldblum, and the many small roles in this film filled by some of Germany's and Israel's most gifted actors. But towering over it all is the compelling performance by Jeff Goldblum who has created a character on film that once seen will never be forgotten. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp

ween-3 Intriguing and surreal movie with an outstanding performance by Jeff Goldblum, whose name should have been in the mix for any number of acting awards for this film. Holocaust-related movies generally don't get deliver box office results, but this is a strikingly good treatment that deserves a wider audience. Watch it and get the word of mouth out there.Paul Schrader, whose had a hand in more than a few films about human darkness, creates an intriguing film here. The "arms" scene at towards the end of the film is worth the price of admission on its own. Right up there with "I am Spartacus" or the "I'm still here, you bastards" last line from "Papillon". Powerful stuff. Derek Jacobi, Willem DeFoe, Ayelet Zurer, a frighteningly good Romanian kid named Tudor Rapiteanu, and the rest of international cast do yeoman's work.Always been a fan of Jeff Goldblum's read on a line...and he's at the top of his game in "Adam".

zetes Jeff Goldblum plays a Jewish clown who survives the Holocaust by pretending to be Nazi officer Willem Dafoe's dog. Sounds like a tasteless, cheesy Italian movie from the '70s, right? Oh, if only. This cringe-worthy material could have been magic, an easy-made cult classic. Unfortunately, Paul Schraeder directs. I'm sure he's directed a few good films. I've seen one or two okay ones. But he's so boring. He's so literal-minded and unambitious. Adam Resurrected is a first rate bore. Goldblum and Dafoe try to make it "fun", but Schraeder's only interested in making a dire Holocaust picture. We just don't need another one of those. For the record, the Holocaust plot line is really only the flashback sequences. The present-day sequences (set in 1960s Tel Aviv) have Goldblum in a mental hospital, complete with the ultra-lame mental hospital clichés (one woman thinks she's holding up the sky from falling - how wonderful!). He is "resurrected" when he finds a young boy who was raised as a dog and he attempts to cure him.