A MAN BETRAYS HIS OWN FAITH IN 'BELIEVER'.Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer THOSE WHO REJECT their faith most virulently are usually those who clung to it most fervently, only to be profoundly disappointed in a moment of need. Writer/director Henry Bean's ``The Believer,'' grand-prize winner at last year's Sundance Film Festival, was inspired by a real-life story of a young Jewish man who became a neo-Nazi. Bean created a powerful portrait of anguished self-loathing that turns anti-Semitism on its ear. Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in The Notebook, Half Nelson and Fracture. delivers an electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. performance as Danny Balint, who, as a boy preparing for his bar mitzvah Bar Mitzvah (bärmĭts`və) [Aramaic,=son of the Commandment], Jewish ceremony in which the young male is initiated into the religious community, according to tradition at the age of 13 years and a day. , was shaping up as a Jewish intellectual, finding sinister underpinnings in Old Testament tales. Today, he's a defiant and hyperarticulate neo-Nazi, one leaders in the movement see big things for in the future. Alas, his past is mined by a reporter, who asks him to reconcile his hate-riddled beliefs with his own Jewishness. Danny thrusts a gun into the reporter's mouth and hisses that if he prints his story, Danny will commit suicide Verb 1. commit suicide - kill oneself; "the terminally ill patient committed suicide" kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays" . What seems to offend Danny most about Jews is their quiescence, reaching back to the story of Abraham, who was willing to murder his own son to appease God. When, after a fracas at a kosher deli, Danny is forced into a sensitivity-training course to listen to Holocaust survivors tell their stories, he berates them for not fighting their oppressors. He even finds Judaism itself lacking for not impelling im·pel tr.v. im·pelled, im·pel·ling, im·pels 1. To urge to action through moral pressure; drive: I was impelled by events to take a stand. 2. To drive forward; propel. more intractable beliefs upon its followers. Danny's a man of action: He wants to blow up a temple. But he's still oddly drawn to Jewish teachings - he holds on to a scroll of the Torah and pays it ritualistic rit·u·al·is·tic adj. 1. Relating to ritual or ritualism. 2. Advocating or practicing ritual. rit heed. The last remaining tatters tat·ter 1 n. 1. A torn and hanging piece of cloth; a shred. 2. tatters Torn and ragged clothing; rags. tr. & intr.v. of his faith, two highly disparate young women and his penchant for destruction square off for a showdown in his psyche. Bean's script is dark and disturbing. At one point, nearing breakdown, Danny preaches a gospel of conquering Jews by loving them: ``The worse the Jews are treated, the more it hardens them,'' he declares; ``suffering, it seems, is the very crucible of their genius.'' Brooding and affecting, ``The Believer'' offers a compelling search for meaning, one that ultimately tortures its protagonist, who is left wondering, ``What if not mattering is the best feeling we can have?'' THE BELIEVER - Three stars (Rated R: strong violence, language and some sexual content) Starring: Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Theresa Russell and Billy Zane. Director: Henry Bean. Running time: 1 hr. 40 min. Playing: Landmark's Nuart in West Los Angeles
CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ryan Gosling stars as a young Jewish man who gradually adopts neo-Nazi views in ``The Believer.'' |
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