MightyMikeKimmel

If you haven't seen this little gem of a film - and most people haven't - do yourself a favor and spend a couple of hours with stars Goldie Hawn, Hal Holbrook, and an up and coming young British stage actor named Anthony Hopkins. It's a terrific story, thoroughly engaging, and the performances (and Russian accents) are spot on. This is a wonderful movie, beautifully shot and directed in 1974 that holds up well with the passing of the years. It's a shame that more people haven't seen this one, as it really is something very special. It was adapted from a novel by journalist George Feifer, and Joe, the Holbrook character, may be seen as a thinly veiled version of the author himself. Don't miss this one.

Terrific character development and dialog in this cinematically beautiful piece. I enjoyed the relationship between the characters and the gritty realism. The surprise ending caught me off guard, as well.

A wonderful short film, which might make for a nice feature project too. I'd like to see this one expanded, as the characters and scenarios are sufficiently compelling to warrant more screen time and further development. Especially interesting are the scenes between the couples when they are experiencing difficulties in their relationships. These scenes shed considerable light on the ways in which people interact with one another when they are unhappy in long term committed relationships but still fighting to keep the flames alive.

I loved the performances, and have seen these same actors in various TV dramas before. They really deliver the goods here, as well, and bring a strong sense of urban realism into this film. Veliz is a filmmaker to watch.

Tim Roth gives an extraordinary performance as Hanussan, the charlatan occultist with a deep dark secret in 1932 Germany. Jouko Ahola (a World's Strongest Man competitor) has a charming, gentle innocence that is perfectly suited for the role of Zishe Breitbart. Ahola's Breitbart is a naive, small town strongman tortured by visions of a horrible future event

• a Holocaust which he can neither comprehend nor explain to his fellow Jews. Ahola's physicality, warmth and childlike kindness is reminiscent of Andre the Giant's performance in The Princess Bride. The film benefits from a wonderful and thoroughly engaging script by Werner Herzog. Roth's character, especially, has two beautifully crafted monologues towards the film's end which are absolutely staggering in their power and intensity. Well worth watching.