The Believer (2001)

Lamentation to its extreme

What a film. This is based on the true story of a Jewish kid (Dan Burros) who gets involved with a neo-nazi group and is torn between his hatred and his love for Judaism. What is most interesting about this film is the philosophical and theological meditations throughout--especially in relation to the story of Abraham and Isaac. A truly great film that has not garnered the attention it deserves. November 9, 2008

A Masterpiece of Characterization

I rented this movie as a last resort, mostly to see Ryan Gosling, fully expecting to hate it. As it turned out, I was utterly mistaken in my preconception and so thoroughly blown away by The Believer that I felt I had to write a review. The result is what you have before you!

The main character, Daniel Basint, played to perfection by Ryan Gosling, is a neo-Nazi who turns out to be (since so many other reviewers haved spoiled the surprise) Jewish himself. The character is supposedly based on a real-life grand wizard of the KKK who killed himself when it was discovered that he was of Jewish ethnicity, but I think Daniel's character is a sort of amalgum of that person and diverse other "self-hating" Jewish people, such as Bobby Fischer.

At any rate, The Believer is not really about neo-Nazis or far right wing conspiracies at all--these are actually just props-- but is instead about conflicts within modern Judaism itselt. These include effeminization, the evolution from spirituality to atheism, and to a lesser extent, commercialization and persecution. The superbly developed spiritual conflict within Daniel is the back-bone of the plot. Apparently Daniel is a self-hating Jew, but the true conflict of the movie is not between Daniel and Judaism, but between Daniel and God himself. I don't want to give spoilers, but the most important clues for understanding the true conflict of Daniel are the movie's title and the line of the amazing final scene, where the teacher says, "Don't you know, there's really nothing up there."

Several of the minor characters are also superbly executed as well, such as Daniel's girl friend. Especially the scene when she allows Daniel to witness her in bed with another man is important for her character development. No scene of the movie is gratuitous or hollow of meaning, each is an important tile in a carefully crafted mosaic, if only the watcher will chew on it for a while. In addition, the movie is brimming with smart dialogue, powerful soliquys, and clever dramatic devices. One understated scene, when Daniel tells a girl "You care nothing for the truth" and she responds "You're right--I care about you"--if it means what I think it means--is unfathomable in its implications!

Everyone appears unanimus in agreeing that Ryan Gosling's performance was outstanding. He shows an intensity and diversity of emotion so critical to the success of the story. This performance reveals him to be the best male actor of his generation, if he's given good material with which to work.

I think The Believer epitomizes the pinnacle of what the independent film industry can show us: intellectually complex, off-beat, even dark or offensive thematic material; morally ambiguous characters; the ingredients for real cinematic art. The movie to me is like a story of biblical proportions, a modern-day installment of the Torah. Daniel's spiritual journey stands up beside that of Job, Jonah, or other old testament heroes. I thought the last scene, a phantasm where Daniel is running up the stairwell of his old school, as if caught in an infinite recursion loop, was the exclamation point that accentuated the movie from goodness to greatness. I hope you too will find the story as powerful as I did.

June 24, 2008

God Hate, Group Hate, Self Hate: Balint's Odd Jewishness

Wow. "Caveat viewor," let the viewer beware. Not for everyone. The depictions of hate, desecrations of sacred things and places, and the language are very, very difficult to watch. Danny Balint (excellently and frighteningly by Ryan Gosling, who knew?) is a disaffected Jewish man who buries his heritage and becomes an up-and-coming "true believer" in the New York anti-Semitic scene. This is supposed to be based on a true story from the '60s.

This film deals with Balint's youthful religious difficulties through flashbacks and crashes anti-Jewish arguments of this and earlier ages against the Jewish community in which Balint practices his particularly violent brand of anti-Semitism. But Balint is worse than just a thug; he's also a pseudo-intellectual and even at times an actual questing mind. He hates God and he hates himself. That is what ultimately makes his efforts at reconciling what he believes to be the fundamental existential questions interesting. And it saves the film from being simply ugly and unbearable. There is a sort of redemption in all this pain. May 28, 2008

Ryan Gosling's supreme performance

It is difficult and contradictory to understand how can a young Jewish man from NYC opt to join the neo nazi group. One thinks of the world in which we live in, where there should be enough information about damaging philosophy such as fascism. But we get to learn that young Daniel is no dummy. He is articulate and complicated. He is perhaps too aware of his Jewishness and hates it. The hatered, anger, self loathing and helplessness lead him to violence because there are no other avenues for him left to explore. His memories from early childhood when he spent time attending Jewish religious classes, debating with his schoolmates and Yeshiva teacher are over. While in school he had no equal in debates. Now that he was no longer part of the system he had no one to debate him. The isolation, inability to identify and relate to anyone or any group turns him to violence that is his only means to relieve his frustration. Even amongst neo-nazi groups he learns about betrayal's and disappointments of different kinds. In wanting to destruct other (Jews) he truly wants ot destroy himself. Perhaps death would lead him to God that is the only one that can give him answers to his questions. Or perhaps death will give him a chance to another life -- calmer, less complicated and more fulfilling. Or perhaps it will end up being a perpetual torment of another kind where self-exploration, questioning and doubt are endless. Ryan Gosling's performance is at his best. His eyes are piercing, physical presence demanding attention and all eyes are on him at all times. Film will leave you deeply conflicted. But then again life is not black and white, it always comes in shades of gray. April 4, 2008

American History X is FAR Superior

I'm going to disagree with most of the people who praise this film. Its story is good and really made me want to watch the film, however I was ultimately disappointed. American History X is a far superior take on Neo-Nazism in America than The Believer.

In American History X, Edward Norton says some pretty racist stuff, but he says them in a way where you go "He's wrong, but he has a point..." and it made you feel dirty because of that, but you couldn't look away. It kinda convinced you and made you nod your head in agreement while shaking your head back and forth at the same time. It sucked you in and you couldn't look away, with some exceptions of the infamous curb stomping scene for some people. Edward Norton's character also went through a transformation and changes his ways.

In The Believer, Ryan Gosling is for the most part an utterly annoying idiot. He says the same racist stuff, but in a way that is in the main stereotype of a racist. He never backs up what he says and it isn't very convincing. When confronted about what he's said and proven wrong, he simply dodges the remark and storms out of the room. And for a self-hating Jew who happens to be a Neo-Nazi, there are frequent moments where he does a HORRIBLE job at hiding the fact that he's a Jew to his fellow Neo-Nazi friends. The viewer wants to know why he thinks and acts like he does, especially with this Neo-Nazi being a Jew himself, however we are never given any good reason other then he had an argument with a teacher when he was a kid. What a pansy. He needed a good Curb-stomping.

The pace of the Believer is also rather slow (an odd thing considering it's only 99 minutes), I'd frequently check my watch to see how much was left. And of course there was the awful artistic ending that suggests Gosling's character was stuck in that moment in time when he went to school. The flashbacks to the classroom are quite possibly the best parts of the movie and the most convincing. I could go on but the simple fact is that this film could have been made so much better. It's a shame because I was really looking forward to this. On an additional note, the supporting Actress's character is an even bigger idiot and VERY annoying.

If you've seen American History X, then there is no point in seeing this film because it is nothing more than a let down with a good moment here and there. If you haven't seen American History X, but you've seen this and loved it, then American History X will blow you out of the water, plain and simple. January 14, 2008

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