MBunge There are two very interesting stories struggling to get out of this long, weirdly subdued and studiously undramatic movie. Unfortunately, neither of them manage to break free.Based on a true story, Invincible tells the tale of Zishe Breitbart (Jouko Ahola), a young Polish Jew who leaves his hometown in 1932 to become a strongman on the stage in Berlin, Germany. Lured to Berlin by dreams of the world and a mysterious woman, Zishe becomes a star attraction at a club called the Palace of the Occult. There he meets Hanussen (Tim Roth), the owner of the club and what we would today call a "mentalist". He performs feats of hypnosis, clairvoyance and mind reading for his Nazi-filled audience. Zishe also meets Marta (Anna Grouari), a young piano player who is married to Hanussen and silently suffers under his mistreatment. At first, Hannusen forces his gigantic Jew to portray an Aryan superman, thrilling his supposed German brothers with his example of physical greatness. But Zishe eventually throws off that facade and enrages the Nazis who believe no Jew could or should be that strong. Zishe's example inspires Berlin's Jewish community and the show becomes more popular than ever. Zishe comes to tire of Berlin life and after a decidedly non-explosive confrontation with Hannusen, he returns to Poland and desperately tries to warn his fellow Jews about the threat he sees coming from Germany. The strongman isn't much of a speaker, however, and finds it hard to convince anyone but his little brother Benjamin (Jacob Wein).If Invincible had either focused more strongly on the German preoccupation with the occult or on Zishe's struggle to spread a warning about Nazism when he returned to Poland, this might have been a very good movie. I t doesn't do nearly enough with either, though, and wallows in a wholesome, boring stupor. This is one case where a film based on a true story would have been far better off taking a few liberties with the facts to construct a firmer, more dynamic narrative. Invincible is less a work of entertainment and more an educational film you'd show kids in Hebrew school, and I bet they'd find it as tedious as I did.The fascination with the occult of the Nazis and German society as a whole is an aspect of pre-WWII Germany that hasn't gotten a lot of serious attention in drama. Outside of the outlandish take seen in Hellboy and the "find the magical MacGuffin" elements of the first and third Indiana Jones movies, this is a rare aspect of the Nazis that hasn't been done to death. And Invincible does something quite intriguing with it. It weaves the personal story of Hanussen trying to exploit Nazi superstition for his own benefit into a look at why the occult became such an object of interest in pre-war Germany. The film suggests that Germans still suffering from the aftermath of WWI saw the supernatural as a way of recapturing the greatness they thought they had lost. After military defeat, economic ruin and political impotency, the supposedly mystical powers of someone like Hanussen were a dark beacon drawing in Germans who had lost their faith in the real world. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't spend enough time with Roth and the Nazis to get any further into the subject than I have in this review.The story of Zishe returning to Poland and desperately trying to convey the real menace of the Nazis to his disbelieving fellow Jews could also have made for one heck of a movie. But Invincible spends about 5 minutes on that before moving on. What could have been a poignant struggle against skepticism that the Nazis could really be that bad and with Zishe's own inarticulateness is dispensed with in a cursory fashion. Imagine if all the killings at the end of The Godfather happened off screen and were only referred to by other characters and that's sort of how it feels in this film.Poor storytelling choices aside, Invincible probably never had a chance to be any good once Jouko Ahola was cast as Zishe. Now, the role is that of a huge muscle man, so it's not like Tim Roth could have played the part. But Ahola is distractingly terrible. His performance would get him laughed off the stage during a high school play. He makes Dolph Lundgren look like a master thespian. Not only can't he act, Ahola has absolutely no screen presence at all. I don't know how drunk writer/director Werner Herzog was when he decided to use someone this talentless and flat as his main character, but I'd bet that instead of measuring the level of alcohol in his blood, you'd have to measure the level of blood in his alcohol.This movie has to be remade. There's simply too much about the basic story that's obviously captivating to allow it to remain stuck in this well-intentioned but unfocused and ill-considered trial of a film.

dromasca 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.

Henry Fields "Invencible" tells the story of a strong young Jewish who travels to Berlin to try his luck in the previous days of Hitler's ascension to power. It's kind of an allegory about principles, about not giving up what we are. Herzog achieves moments of great beauty, with a great photography and nice production, but the script is not as good as it should have been. Also the movie is way too long. It's not in my Werner Herzog Top 5 but as I've said before it's a movie full of beauty and good vibrations that deals with one of those anti-heroes that Herzog loves to portrait.*My rate: 6/10

rachie_6 Werner Herzog once again amazes me. he's portrayed the characters in this film very well - showing their sensitivity, and strength. The Nazi era too - he's showing all the reality and brutality of the time. The acting was very good - i especially liked the Wein family - they were outstanding. I also think Tim Roth was excellent. The story line was very good - it really held together, and it was a touching story. I highly recommend this film!I have to write 10 lines, for this review, but i don't know what else to say. I loved the film, the plot, the actors, the characters, and everything about it, and once again, Werner Herzog pulls off an amazing piece.