Hanussen

Biography movies take famous people lives, process, embellish and make them more interesting. Something different seems to happen with Istvan Szabo's 'Hanussen' - though it does have its doze of processing I have the feeling that the real life of the character was more interesting than the life in the movie.

Eric Jan Hanussen was the stage name of a magician in Berlin's 20s and early 30s. His show were not based on special effects, but on an extraordinary capacity of guessing the thoughts, controlling the minds and foreseeing the future of the people in the audience. We can debate to what extent this was real or con art, but there was something true in his charismatic presence and his power of hypnosis. Janussen however remained in history not by his talent as a magician and not even as a hipnotizer, but because he was capable to predict and express in the language of the magicians the ascension to power of Hitler. What now is history trivia was not that obvious in the 20s and beginning of the 30s and the power of prediction of Hanussen was beyond the general level, reaching the level of detail of the fire that destroyed the Reichstag.

Istavan Szabo film goes however far away from the real Hanussen. A visit on the site of the family http://www.steinschneider.com/biography/hanussen_bio.htm reveals a character even more mysterious and fascinating than in the movie. In reality Hanussen was Jewish, but this fact was not known to his Nazi friends. It is not clear whether he was driven by opportunistic reasons or by fear, or by a combination of both, but the real Janussen seems to have been far from the unwilling person, or even opponent as described in the movie, but may have been rather a real sympathizer. It is even said that he even met Hitler, and taught him some crowd control and staging techniques used later by the dictator in his big mass shows. Hard to say why all these details were not presented in the movie, they could have made the character even more complex and interesting.

Klaus Maria Brandauer's performance is magnificent, he masters the screen as Hanussen must have mastered the stage, it is maybe the best thing that remained from this film, together with the powerful and colorful rendition of the decadent atmosphere of Berlin during the Weimar Rebublic. Yet the real Hanussen may have been even a more fascinating character than Brandauer's Hanussen.

A German soldier with a serious head wound survives The Great War to become a celebrated clairvoyant in Depression-era Berlin, mesmerizing audiences (and critics) by the sheer force of his personality. No, his stage name isn't Adolph Hitler, but the parallels soon become clear. Are his powers a supernatural gift or merely sensitive guesswork? The question takes on added significance when the apolitical showman begins predicting the rise of fascism and falls under the influence (against his own will) of the fledgling Nazi Party. The film presents an intriguing, if not always cohesive, portrait of an entertainer (and by extension, a nation) under the spell of forces beyond anyone's control, with the title role coming vividly to life in Klaus Maria Brandauer's equally mesmerizing performance. His efforts helped earn the film a nomination for Best Foreign Language Feature, but the results were likely too dark and ambiguous to win the Oscar.

The acting by Klaus Maria Brandauer as Hanussen is top notch. He carries this movie. And all in all I really enjoyed it.

Only the title is a little misleading. Because I never got the feeling it portrays the historic Hanussen. But then again movies seldom stay true to history. But at least they got all the major events right and even Hanussen's stage performance and probably his charisma...

But his character... well, I just feel that he wasn't the kind of person that is being portrayed in this movie - AT ALL! This movie portrays him as an opponent of the Nazis, when in reality he was more of a supporter who fell out of favor due to factional infighting and some miscalculated movies on Hanussen's part.

A lot of people have noticed this and many have asked why he is being portrayed in a purely positive light and as an opponent of the Nazis when in reality he was more like one of Hitler's most important supporters at the time. Personally I think they intentionally altered this aspect. Consider it German censorship. As you can clearly see by watching this movie, German censorship works very different than U.S. censorship. Germans have no problems with displaying tons of unnecessary nudity, sex, alcohol, drug use and swearing - sometimes even in children's movies. But having the protagonist of a movie be a leading Nazi? And on top of that a Jewish Nazi? No way! People in Germany of 1988 weren't ready for that kinda stuff.

In 2007 the Germans made a movie called "My Führer" which also seems to be VERY loosely based on Hanussen. Only this time they finally included scenes of him actually teaching Hitler - something they obviously weren't yet ready for in 1988.

So I actually kinda liked Klaus Maria Brandauer's "fictional" Hanussen more than the historic one - he is definitely more sympathetic. So as long as you separate the Hanussen portrayed in "Hanussen" from the historic Hanussen, then it is a very enjoyable and touching story.

Oh and I feel I have to note that the English subtitles I had aren't exactly the most accurate. A lot of times the subtitles seem to say something completely different than what is being said in German. And while the acting of Klaus Maria Brandauer is awesome, the acting of some of the supporting characters is awful. Now this sounds like a lot of criticism, but actually the movie is still pretty awesome and truly deserves 9 out of 10. If you liked movies like "The Prestige" or "The Illusionist" then this is a must watch!

István Szabó is one of the best directors in Europe. He doesn't use any special effects, only unusual, demanding stories and Europe's best actors. He is an international director but he never forgets that he is actually Hungarian and there are always some Hungarian speaking people in his movies.

In "Hanussen" he tells the very gripping story of a man who predicts Hitler's advancement. It was a most interesting film and I was a bit disturbed afterwards because they didn't make it quite clear whether it's based on a true story or not.

However, watch this movie. It's also a great performance by Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Having seen the two first films of Szabo-Brandauer's trilogy, I felt exceptionally curious to see HANUSSEN, perhaps the least popular of these but very attractive as for the content. And when I at last got an opportunity to see this film, I immediately noticed the mature Szabo directing style that seems to be addressed rather to adult viewers. What is so special about this very style that is ever present in MEPHISTO, OBERST REDL and here? It's almost deprived of effective visuals being supplied with the typical themes concerning the fear of future, contradictions of a self, nonsense of politics, problem of selfishness, power of propaganda, finally a personal tragedy in a diversely brutal world. Yet, there is something that appears to be unique for HANUSSEN...the main character.

Though Klaus Schneider or Eric Jan Hanussen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) also goes through an individual drama, he is different than Mephisto or Redl were. He is not an actor whom people like for talent and wit, he is not a soldier whom the military and governing powers reward, he is a magician, a hypnotist, a "prophet" who can predict everything, who is able to look at people's faces and read their minds. Yet, like with the two previous characters, at the moment he becomes a popular figure the politics steps in and controls the life of the character no matter if he wants this or not...

Since the film has much to do with magic and unreal events combined with hypnosis, the events might seem unconvincing for many of us. Transfer of will, oriental elements, hidden power, symbols of magic...these all do not appeal to me whatsoever. At the same time, this film is not for youngsters or children but only for adult viewers due to its sophistication and immorality, including nudity. However, what we get at the beginning and at the end of the movie is the Lord's Prayer. It seems that only in the most important, crucial moments of life, people turn to the only God they have in their hearts. However, someone may cope with one significant dilemma: can we combine Christianity with magic? The director does not seem to bother answering for that question. He rather focuses, like in his previous films, on a person in the world, on a life among many lives: so unique, so irreplaceable, so much filled with contradictions, so weak and unstable. And that is something I'd like to analyze in more details.

Istvan Szabo, to the very core, provides us with an insight into the sadness, hypocrisy of the reality we live in. Why are the people so much into magic? Because they have unstable lives. Magic attracts them because it may tell them something they do not find in a regular routine of everyday life. They love Hanussen because it is him who predicts the unexpected stock exchange prices of cotton, it is him who tells the fate of the American ship, it is him who predicts the reign of Hitler and his pack of bandits. Finally, it is him, this time so uncomfortable, who predicts the burning of Reichstag. Therefore, illusively, people love him in spite of the fact that there is also a propaganda around his personality; they love him because he can partly ease their fear of tomorrow, he can give them an answer while the rest of the world remains mute.

The performances are fine but one performance is a marvel...it's Klaus Maria Brandauer's. I am not going to compare his portrayal to his previous ones in Szabo's films. They were all very good. However, one fact has to be mentioned. It is in HANUSSEN where one realizes that Brandauer was really born for these roles. His Hanussen is a quintessential of what Szabo wanted to convey in his films. He reaches the climax here. Unforgettable moments! Consider, for instance, one of his most powerful moments when he (Klaus Schneider) stops a patient in hospital from suicide. This is also a critical moment in the whole movie because then the main character finds himself as a hypnotist and people find this talent in him. Other cast include Erland Josephson as Dr Bettelheim and Adrianna Biedrzynska as Wally. Meaningful that Szabo twice cast a Polish actress as the main character's woman (Krystyna Janda in MEPHISTO and Adrianna Biedrzynska here). She is not Janda but does a fine job, too.

All in all, HANUSSEN, though a very difficult movie, appears to be a significant work: thought provoking, individual one. Yet, it should be seen after MEPHISTO and OBERST REDL. Then, the movie makes the desirable sense. It is simply a harmony of Szabo's with Klaus Maria Brandauer in the lead and their pretty pessimistic message about life and reality.