It is really a great disappointment to see such an interesting director as Werner Herzog doing such a conventional and uninteresting film.
The story is set in Poland and Berlin in the year before the Nazis ascended to power in Germany. Zisa, a Jewish strongman from Poland goes to Berlin and becomes involved in the cabaret shows of magician and fortune teller Hanusse, first playing the role of an 'aryan' here and then as a new Jewish 'Samson'. Unfortunately this allegedly true story is treated in the most conventional and stereotype way one could imagine, without any dramatic tension, character development or historical revelation. Poland's Jewish shtetl is idealized as in some Shalom Alechem inspired story without the charm of Shalom Alechem. Berlin between the two wars lacks the fascination and spark of many good movies that dealt with th etime and place and is populated by operetta villains Nazis. Hanussen is a fascinating character, but here he is uni-dimensional and makes us long for the mysterious and complex view we got from him in Istvan Szabo's 'Hanussen'. Moreover history is twisted, Hanussen is killed in the movie in 1932, while in reality he was assassinated in 1933 a few weeks after the Nazis came to power. Some dream scenes haunt the hero during the movie but they do not succeed to transmit any emotion or message.
If Herzog had made this film at the beginning of his career I would have doubted his talent. Having done as a mature director, after he already proved what a fine director he can be is really the only mystery around this movie.
The story is set in Poland and Berlin in the year before the Nazis ascended to power in Germany. Zisa, a Jewish strongman from Poland goes to Berlin and becomes involved in the cabaret shows of magician and fortune teller Hanusse, first playing the role of an 'aryan' here and then as a new Jewish 'Samson'. Unfortunately this allegedly true story is treated in the most conventional and stereotype way one could imagine, without any dramatic tension, character development or historical revelation. Poland's Jewish shtetl is idealized as in some Shalom Alechem inspired story without the charm of Shalom Alechem. Berlin between the two wars lacks the fascination and spark of many good movies that dealt with th etime and place and is populated by operetta villains Nazis. Hanussen is a fascinating character, but here he is uni-dimensional and makes us long for the mysterious and complex view we got from him in Istvan Szabo's 'Hanussen'. Moreover history is twisted, Hanussen is killed in the movie in 1932, while in reality he was assassinated in 1933 a few weeks after the Nazis came to power. Some dream scenes haunt the hero during the movie but they do not succeed to transmit any emotion or message.
If Herzog had made this film at the beginning of his career I would have doubted his talent. Having done as a mature director, after he already proved what a fine director he can be is really the only mystery around this movie.