Ein Leben für ein Leben - Adam Resurrected

Jeff Goldlum does the best "Jeff Goldblum" in the business. If you hire him to do a "Jeff Goldblum" performance, it's like money in the bank. But _Adam Resurrected_ is not that. Goldblum's Adam is a nuanced, unpredictable and intelligent piece of work, the best of his career thus far. Indeed, the film as a whole represents a welcome return to adult themes and emotions. Sorrow, loss, power, human dignity, and human degradation are but some of the themes at work in Schrader's movie. Happily, we are not handed a tidy resolution (with the requisite "redemption" at the end), but a deep sense that life is a complicated, conflicted and layered experience. See this film when and if you get tired of CGI effects, Ben Stiller fart jokes and "the genius of Seth Rogen."

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.

To deal with the inconceivable you need to create a vocabulary that extends beyond the conventional. The powerful performances, the extraordinary literary devices and the sublime directing and editing help enormously. The end result, a satisfying glimpse into the ineffable is achieved by providing a vision, revealing a landscape that defies revelation. An unique and necessary achievement. An artistic collaborative triumph of the spirit. The difficulties in the conventional narrative are actually an opportunity to explore facets of the spectrum human behavior, from the animal/dog, human and the divine within. Most helpful was the extras on the DVD that provided additional background. BRAVO! And now part II please.

This is the best movie I have seen in a very long time. A completely intriguing script, with some really good acting. Jeff Golblum is playing a Jewish man and lands a powerful and extraordinary performance. Although he has faults at the beginning with the accent, he clearly improves during the movie. This is not a gruesome war movie. In fact, I didn't see one person murdered. It's a psychological drama that revolves around the tormented soul that Jeff Golblum portrays. A tragedy mixed with really dark humour that will keep your attention for the entirety of the film. It's rare that you see Hollywood actors doing such dark, confronting, art-house kind of movies, but this one works and I'm going to recommend it to lots of people.

Willem Dafoe is now Commandant Klein, and he is in charge of a concentration camp. Previously, he was a guest at a show of one of Germany's greatest clowns, Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum), and now Stein stands before him in his camp. He graciously agrees to free Stein if he does two things, (1) act like a dog for his amusement, and (2) play the violin while his wife and daughter march to their deaths in the gas chamber.

Having lost his humanity, Adam is in and out of mental institutions while living in Israel. The patients love him, the doctor (Derek Jacobi) is fascinated with his case, and the head nurse (Ayelet Zurer)wants his body - why, I could never figure out.

Adam comes upon a young boy (Tudor Rapiteanu) in the cellar of the institution and begins a transformation that not only cures the boy, but restores his humanity.

The back and forth flashback may be disturbing to some, but it is essential to the story, and gives us a chance to enjoy the excellence that Dafoe brings to the screen.

Goldblum is excellent, as he always is.