Invincible (Fine Line)
Release Date:
September 20, 2002
Release pushed back from March 29, 2002
Limited release
Werner Herzog is a director who in the past has drawn sympathy to a number of diverse characters from German history and legend with his dreamlike films. He continues that tradition with Invincible, which is based on the true story of Zishe Breitbart, a Jewish blacksmith's son from eastern Poland who causes a sensation when he becomes known as the strongest man of his time while he works in a Berlin freak show. His employer, Erik Jan Hanussen, is Adolf Hitler's psychic, and wants Zishe to "become" the Germanic hero Siegfried. Ziche has to decide whether to use his strength to hide his identity or to defend his people as the tide in Berlin begins to turn toward anti-Semitism.
Lending an air of authenticity to the role of Zishe is Jouko Ahola, a Finnish weightlifter and two-time World's Strongest Man champion making his first feature film appearance. Tim Roth (Planet of the Apes) plays Hanussen.
Herzog's previous films, such as My Best Fiend and Aguirre: The Wrath of God, have had minimal impact on North American box office. Invincible looks likely to chart a similar course, as it is set for an extremely limited opening with very slight possibility for later expansion. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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