Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25099 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-19
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, Hebrew
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

From The New Yorker
There is considerable power and daring in Henry Bean's intense drama about a young Jewish Nazi in New York. Danny Balint is an intellectual trying to succeed as a thug; he beats up the studious yeshiva students he sees on the New York subway because he wants to destroy who he once was. His hatred of Jews is based not on the belief that they are too powerful but rather that they are not powerful enough. Bean doesn't quite open the material up visually-he's more a writer than a director-but the canny young actor Ryan Gosling is magnetic as the confused Danny, who is never more Jewish than at those moments when he is trying to escape Judaism. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

From the Actor
The Believer was written and directed by Henry Bean, who has penned such successful psychological thrillers as Internal Affairs, Deep Cover, and Enemy of the State. Bean was recently honored with the Independent Film Project's prestigious Open Palm award for his work on the film. In addition, The Believer won the top prize at this year's Moscow International Film Festival, and was selected for competition in the Contemporary World Cinema Section of this year's Toronto Film Festival, as well as the Munich and Jerusalem Film Festivals. Ryan Gosling's electrifying performance as Danny has garnered the young actor rave reviews across the board. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, for example, described the actor's performance as "the revelation of the Sundance Film Festival." The Believer also stars Billy Zane (Titanic, The Phantom, Back to the Future,), Theresa Russell (Wild Things, Black Widow), and Summer Phoenix (Committed, S.L.C Punk, The Faculty ).

Customer Reviews

Powerful, disturbing and thought provoking. I loved it!
I was prepared to absolutely hate this 2001 film. It's about Daniel, a Jewish young man who's an anti-Semite. He supposedly hates Jews so much that he becomes a leader of a right wing group. He's cruel and angry and incredibly articulate about it. In fact his arguments are so sophisticated and well done, that some Jewish groups have called it a "primer for anti-Semitism". When the film was released, the press was so bad that the film never was distributed widely, especially since it came out around the time of 9/11.

Based on an actual true story, the film is hard to watch. The star, Ryan Gosling, is such a good actor that I believed in his characterization entirely. His performance is nothing less than mesmerizing, as we see him go through conflicts and gradually change. We see flashbacks to his early years when he attended a Yeshiva and argued with the teacher. We also see short sequences enacting a holocaust story of a murdered child that he plays and replays in his mind. We see a romance with a young woman who is fascinated with Judaism. We see him and a gang of young toughs desecrating a synagogue. There are a lot of ugly words. And forbidden concepts. I found myself cringing throughout.

My heart was beating the whole time. My eyes were glued to the screen. I was disgusted and fascinated and horrified. But, as the film progressed though, I saw that it was not an anti-Semitic film at all. In fact, it said some wonderfully positive things about Judaism and made me proud to be a Jew. However, I'm aware that many people will only see the hate and I understand why this film creates fear. It's very powerful. And it will probably feed the flames of hatred for those who already think that way.

The DVD has some wonderful features. The director, Henry Bean, spoke at length about his search for an actor, his troubles with distributing the film, the true story on which the film is based, and his own struggles as an American assimilated Jew. Another feature on the DVD showed the actual filming of one of the most pivotal scenes in the film. Daniel is alone in a room with a partially destroyed Torah, the holy scroll that all Jews hold sacred. He carefully tries to clean it and repair it with tape. And his body language and facial expressions show all his conflicts and contradictions. The feature also discusses the camera angles, lenses and the use of the light and also talks about the changes made in the editing room. All of this just added to my appreciation of the film.

This is not a film for everyone. And, unfortunately, it will be misinterpreted my many. But I personally loved it. And highly recommend it for those with an open mind.

Raw & Powerful
"The Believer" features Ryan Gosling as a Jewish fascist and is based very loosely on a true story from the 1960s. The movie has been quite controversial, and it was shown originally on cable when the studio that made it decided not to release it in theaters, even though it won awards at Sundance. It was filmed in a raw, almost documentary manner, but it's not really gratuitous. Clearly, it's meant to provoke the viewer into thinking critically about issues of anti-semitism, religion, hatred, and so forth. On that level, it succeeds. "The Believer" is the type of movie that is likely to elicit a great deal of conversation if you watch it with your friends.

Some viewers may compare it to "American History X," but I think that "the Believer" is a much more complex and realistic portrait of aliented youth and hatred. The most frightening aspect of the movie is that it forces the viewer to understand (but not neccesarily sympathize with) the lead character. Ryan Gosling gives a raw, believable star-making performance. Obviously, many viewers may be (justifiably) offended by this movie, but if you're open then give "The Believer" a try. The DVD also features a wonderful episode of "Anatomy of a Scene" that shows the making of one of the best scenes in the movie.

Fascinating portrayal of a split, megalomaniacal personality
This movie was incredible, the most interesting and well-acted presentation of neo-nazism and post-WWII judaism that I have seen. I was a little surprised that some reviewers mentioned American History X. The two films have little in common, other than the politics of their protraginists. Though American History X was enjoyable, it was not the powerful film (despite the infamous curbing scene) that The Believer is.

Inspired by a true story, Ryan Gosling plays Daniel, a self-hating Jew who denies his heritage and joins up with an American fascist, neo-nazi movement. One reviewer has said that his self-loathing comes from the perceived inability of the Jews to fight back against their attackers, and this is certainly part of the equation. (In one of the more powerful scenes - though there were quiet a few of those - he tells Jewish survivors of the Holocaust that they ought to have "killed their enemies".) However, the flashback the movie provides of Daniel telling his teacher at Hebrew School that he alone recognizes G-d for the "conceited bully" that He is suggests that Daniel's flaws run deep indeed. For it is Daniel, as the movie's first scene shows, who is the real "conceited bully". Brought up with an idea of a punishing G-d, a G-d who would order the Jews to kill their own children, he becomes that G-d by completing the task that Abraham began.

Needless to say, the psychology of the protaginist is the main draw of the movie and what will leave the viewer wondering for hours afterwards. Ryan Gosling's performance is simply incredible, and he gives perfect voice to the twisted rational of modern anti-Semitism. His accusations are refuted, here and there, by other Jews, but the movie doesn't once stoop to the level of preaching. Simply an excellent, excellent film.