Invincible

Plot synopsis:
During the 1970s decade, chaos reigns in the city of Philadelphia as southern portions of the city protest the shutdown of several job sites while their NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, endures a string of losing seasons, along with irate fans.
In 1976, Vince Papale goes to a sandlot one night and joins his friends playing a pick-up practice football game against another group of young men. After the game ends, Papale goes home and finds out that his wife Sharon is disgusted with his alleged failure to provide proper support.
The next morning, Papale goes to the high school where he works as a substitute teacher. In a short, unexpected meeting with the principal, he is told of his layoff. Later in the day, there is a report that the Eagles have hired a new head coach named Dick Vermeil as shown in a formal televised conference. That night, Papale goes to the bar where he works as a part-time bartender. The bar contains die-hard Eagles fans, who are watching TV about the hiring of Vermeil. The news story concludes with the announcement by Vermeil that he is staging open public tryouts for the Eagles. The men in the bar encourage Papale to go to the tryout. When Papale returns home, he finds out that his wife has left him and a note from her saying he will never be anything in the world. Distraught, Papale thrashes the few remaining belongings that Sharon left behind.
When Papale goes to the bar the next night, he meets a new co-bartender, Janet Cantrell, who is a Giants fan. Desperate for income in the aftermath of his wife's departure, Papale receives support from his friends and attends the tryout hosted at Veterans' Stadium. Out of several hundred Philadelphia residents attending the training facility, Papale performs well during the workouts. After the camp is over, Papale fails to start his car and Dick Vermeil comes by. He is impressed by Papale’s actions at camp and invites him to training camp to compete for a roster spot with the Philadelphia Eagles. Everyone at the bar becomes excited about the TV announcement that Papale will be joining the team. After work, Papale has an interview with a newscaster.
The next day, Papale exercises by jogging in the city and stops by at the empty home he tore up, where his former wife Sharon lived; then he interacts with his friends, telling them about joining the Eagles. His father, meanwhile, offers to let Vince stay with him. The following day, he goes to his first training camp with the Eagles. As the days of training camp progress, Papale endures a life full of hard work and disrespect from the other players. Papale goes out on a date with Janet one night, but didn't think he'd still be on the team. He says he's not sure he can start a new relationship at that time because he's focused on trying his best to make the team and she claims she didn't know it was a date. She goes to help out at the bar and he leaves. As training camp ends, the final roster spot is down to Papale and a veteran. Against his assistants' advice, Vermeil decides to give the spot to Papale.
As Papale’s career with the Eagles begins, the team loses all six preseason games and their regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. Papale plays poorly against the Cowboys and Vermeil faces pressure from the fans and media for the poor start. After the team returns to Philadelphia, Papale goes to the sandlot where he played with his friends several months before. He is invited to play, but he declines because of his upcoming Eagles game and watches for a few minutes. A rainstorm begins, and then Papale does join his pals and plays against another sandlot team to help his friends. During a wet and dirty game, Papale ends the game by throwing a touchdown pass. When he runs into Janet later, they speak briefly before passionately embracing and tumbling into Vince's home.
During the home opener against the New York Giants, Eagles fans are enraged about Janet’s appearance in a Giants shirt. In the locker room, Vince looks again at the note Sharon had left and tears it up. Papale opens the game by solo-tackling the kickoff returner inside the 15-yard line. After an up-and-down game, Papale gets downfield during an Eagles' 4th quarter punt to tackle the returner, forcing a fumble that he recovers and takes into the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Eagles their first win in Papale’s career. Eagles fans go wild with joy. As the film's end credits appear, media and actual footage show highlights of Papale’s career with the Eagles. Papale plays for the team for three seasons and eventually marries Janet while Vermeil succeeds in turning the Eagles into a winning team, culminating in an appearance in Super Bowl XV.

Tags: murder

Review:
I just saw this touching movie at the Stockholm Film Festival, and I have to say Herzog is still as poignant, charming and direct in his storytelling as ever.
Not afraid to cast people who just have pure feelings, no plastic acting-by-the-book moves and more than one and a half expressions on their faces.The frame of the story is a little jewish village in Poland in 1932, where a big family lives a poor but happy life.
Based on a true story, the legend of the Invincible Zishe Breitbart, played bravely and somewhat charmingly naive by Jouko Ahola (the 1997 and 1999 strongest man), still is told among the jewish people.
When he gets hired at a varieté in Berlin, he finds himself confronted with the Nazis, his strange employer Jan Hanussen, played by the impressive Tim Roth, who wants to sell him off as Siegfried, a blond, germanic hero who can even lift an elephant.
Told in a simple, poetic and beautifully photographed way, Herzog manages to make you overlook the only downside of the whole movie: the bad language, german spiced english.For people who care more about the persons than the action, this movie comes highly recommended..
Werner Herzog's Invincible tells the story of a Polish blacksmith in Nazi Germany who in his provincial integrity thinks he can protect his people after becoming the star at the Palace of the Occult in Berlin, which is overseen by a sinister man who dreams of becoming the Nazis' Minister of the Occult.
Much of the movie's uncanny appeal comes from the contrast between the simple-mindedly innocent blacksmith-come-strongman and Tim Roth's wicked Hanussen, who trickles with studied malice.
As for the untrained actor playing the strongman, the camera can look as closely as you like and never see anything insincere.Herzog always works to push us into the mythic and the mysterious.
Initially happy to do so, the deception and denial of self gradually eats at him as he performs on stage.I may not be the most cine-literate person in the world but I know enough to give any film from Werner Herzog a try to see what happens.
Ahola falls somewhere in the middle; he is not the most expressive man in the world but he has a good presence and his gentle strongman performance works for the majority  it is only in the latter stages where more is asked of him where he comes up wanting.
The rest of the cast are mostly average at best  not a major problem but few people will defend the bland and flat deliveries of people like Gourari and Wein  both of whom come over as if they would struggle to read a traffic sign in a convincing manner.Overall this is an OK film at best  starting with potential but fading away long before the end.
The performances are mostly average but what is more surprising is that Herzog doesn't really make the film his own  some of it looks interesting but it lacks the visual style that I had hoped for and it doesn't offer a great deal in its place..
I remember the last movie broadcast on channel 4 with Tim Roth in the credits which was THE WAR ZONE , one of the few movies I've regretted watching due to the depressing content and since INVINCIBLE centres around the birth of Nazism I wasn't expecting too many uplifting moments but I certainly recommend Werner Herzog's strange and interesting drama based on a true story !!!!
Certainly the most bitter irony about the rise of Nazism is that one of the architects of Nazi philosophy Alfred Rosenberg had a Jewish name while Hitler , Heydrich and Eichmann were of Jewish descent themselves ( Though technically not Jews - According to tradition if your mother wasn't a Jew neither are you ) so people with an irony deficency will have a problem understanding this beautiful and intelligent film And I don't apologise for thinking this is a beautiful and intelligent film , it might not have the reputation of Herzog's other films like the painfully overrated FITZCARRALDO but it's one I can certainly recommend for a mainstream audience .
You do get the gut instinct that Herzog wanted to cast a certain Austrian body builder turned politician in the lead role and it's impossible to watch Ahola without being reminded of Big Arnie except Ahola is an even more wooden actor and his lack of thespian skills is made even more obvious when he's playing opposite Tim Roth is one of his most impressive roles which slightly damages the movie.
Set in the years before WWII, a simpleton cum Jewish Pole strong man, was recruited by a German mystic cum showman, who's intent on dressing him up into Aryan legends, to perform legendary feats of strength on a hybrid cabaret-like show for Nazis patrons?
That he once said (and I'm paraphrasing) "some people make movies with their minds and hearts, I make them with my (expletive)." So, when I saw this film at the rental store, Invincible, and the image of Tim Roth in a truly Gothic pose on the cover, I expected it to be a dark, brooding film about pre-war, pre-dictator Hitler Germany.
It's to Herzog's credit that he makes these people in Poland shtetels and in Berlin to be believable, but he's not a great director of them like the neo-realists in Italy were.
And because Roth, as this brooding, tragic anti-hero witnesses what happens with his strongman from Poland, is so good and subtle at his role, he out-acts pretty much anyone else in the film.
For those that find the acting "wooden" then it would be best not to recommend the movie Werner directed in which he hypnotized his cast and filmed them (Heart of Glass was the title of that one).
Even Tim Roth puts in a nice performance-- I wouldn't have thought of him as an actor Werner would cast!
When I recently saw Werner Herzog speak at the American Cinematheque, he made a comment, with apologies, that he frequently thought of the fact finding obsessions of most documentary filmmakers as being evidence that they are the "accountants of truth." Mr. Herzog INVINCIBLE is a remarkable example of what you should do with reality when you're making a movie about it.
But let's not waste the time with that and let's get back to the topic.INVINCIBLE is a drama based on the true story of Zishe Breitbart, a very strong blacksmith that is discoverd in a Poland village and ends up working for Erik Jan Hanussen (Tim Roth), a "mystic" man who is the leader of a cabaret variety show.First i have to tell you what didn't work with the movie and than continue with the things that worked.
I loved the film, the plot, the actors, the characters, and everything about it, and once again, Werner Herzog pulls off an amazing piece..
The audience is mostly Nazis party members and Hanussen turns Zishe into an Aryan ideal.Werner Herzog picks interesting characters and subject matters to do films about.
While this movie is based on a true character, (Siegmund Breitbart, also known popularly as Zishe) a late 19th - early 20th Century Polish-Jew strongman cum Samson, remember, this is a movie, and a highly fictionalised one at that; given that he was actually dead some 7yrs prior to the time frame of the movie setting.
Yes he was a Blacksmith, and a very strong one at that, yes he did perform some amazing strongman acts and yes he did die of an infection (very likely Tetanus) and perhaps he did have a higher calling and foresaw the holocaust, but not in 1932, which is the setting of the movie (because he was already dead).
Herzog is very primitive in that regards, and in it's most basic form, Herzog is King of his cult fame.This film, is good output, in that it's about Nazi Germany, and the little theatre based on a real life story, that demonstrates a interesting drama, with a heart of heroism.If you like cult films, and if you like production.
not about performance - Tim Roth is brilliant - not about a time - Jouko Ahola does a character with all nuances of spring day -, not about survive or end of innocence.
"Invincible" is another of Herzog's Grim Tales similar in atmosphere, look and even actor to "Kasper Hauser" In this tale the enigmatic strong man represents all that is good, innocent and initially strong in the Europe that the Nazis will attempt to sweep away.
True: the choreography of the cabaret scenes was fine and Tim Roth gave a spirited performance, but the lack of historical accuracy, the pathetic acting, the incredible lack of interesting content, and poor writing make this a very very sad piece of work indeed.
Herzog told usthat the real Ziche died in 1926 (although it was actually 1925)whereas in the movie he dies "two days before Hitler comes topower" and that he had taken certain liberties writing the script.
Werner Herzog, the man who's drawn sympathy to any number of deviant characters from german history and legend in his dreamlike movies, doesn't dissapoint with this tale of a Polish-Jewish stronman who becomes part of a freakshow led by the famous illusionist Haunausen, the subject of a more sympathetic portrayal by Istvan Szabo.
In this movie Haunessen is a manipulative NAzi Appeaser who takes advantage of the leading character, himself played by a former "world's strongest man" finalist who is wonderfully convincing in the role; but who finally has the tables turned on him.Being a herzog film, it doesn't shy away from major themes, moral responsiblity, the role of propaganda, and the nature of identity, but what struck me most was the tenderness with which herzog treats his subject and the realism of it's potrayal of 30's Poland and Berlin.
"Invincible" slogs through a 2 hour fable-of-sorts as it tells of a rural Jewish blacksmith (Ahola) who takes up with a theater troupe as a strongman and finds himself embroiled in a variety of Nazi-Jew issues (Circa 1932).
Unfortunately, everything is so bad that it's impossible.Maybe it's because he can actually act, but Tim Roth's character was far more interesting than Zische, the naive buffoon.
Watch only the scenes with Tim Roth, and it's a good movie.
Still, he manages to carry the entire troupe (much like the story of the Jewish hero who supposedly carries the entire weight of his powerless flock), but without him the movie crumbles.So if you must watch this film, start at the 30min mark, and shut it off at around 1hr 20min or whenever Tim makes his last scene.
I don't know if it's the language barrier or what, but Herzog should really stick to German scripts.I could get into finer criticisms about uneven camera-work (such as Herzog's rare indulgence in using cranes, dollies and zooms which contrast abruptly with his trademark hand-held shots), or i could expose some terribly sappy plot twists (like a sudden, awkward romance that culminates in a bizarre orchestra appearing out of nowhere), or I could really lay into Herzog for ostensibly trying to tell a tale of Jewish heroism whilst portraying "common Jews" to be impotent, apathetic sheep (unless that was his intent?
But it is an excellent story set in prewar Germany about a Jewish strongman and how he came to represent Aryan strength until he decided to out himself as a Jew. The acting was terrific.The nightclub cabaret scenes were well done too with choreography that was delightful to watch and gave one the feeling of being back in Germany in the 1930's.Tim Roth was excellent in his role as was the lead character.
The scenes in the club with Tim Roth as the occultist Hannusen (rather closer, though not really close, to the historical character) are the most interesting partially I guess due to the inherent fascination of Nazi occultism and there is a good feel for period here.
I bought this DVD purely on a lets-give-it-a-try basis, knowing only a few supporting actors, and of course, Tim Roth and Werner Herzog.I cant say I was disappointed with any of the two: Roth delivers a solid performance as usual, and Herzog manages (although barely) to display his straightforward, albeit compelling, style of telling stories, that keeps both the average movie-going folks, and his more artsy fans, happy and debating the qualities and faults.This movie would work much better in German, instead of English - a poor choice of Herzog, in my opinion.
Some people may leave this movie convinced that they have watched a "true" story, but as any small research will tell you, Breitbart died years before, never met Hanussen, went to the USA, and sold his strength method, Charles Atlas' style.
Herzog chose to make a lively tale out of this, where Breitbart foresees the nazi horrors, etc, while living a 'simple' life - but even without knowing better, the final result looks oversimplified.A final word for Jouko Ahola - at first, I thought he was just some weightlifter, casted somewhat by accident (after listening to Wein and Gourari, one loses all faith in this casting), but he does fit this role with great merit.
So strong, in fact, that the real Breitbart looks small in comparison, and so do all the other characters, with the exception of Roth, that he lifts in the air like a child, but without whom he would be lost - in the story, and in the movie.Too bad, that his strong arms cant lift this movie above its rather simplistic premises.
Just the first half, Herzog's attention to detail (the shtetl, 1930's Berlin), Roth and Ahola's performances, each for its own reasons, and a few lasting scenes - Breitbart's first performance, breaking the chains and bending the sword, with the music - make this movie a hard 7..
In this aspect and in its portrayal of the entertainment world of the German elite, it also evokes "Cabaret".There's great acting here by Tim Roth and Jouko Ahola.
"Invincible" (2002): I should always start by saying "Werner Herzog is one of my favorite film makers" and then go into all the reasons (at least those for which I can find words).
"Invincible" is based on a true story (in typical Herzog fashion), and focuses on two main characters  a man who claims to be the Psychic to the Nazis, and, a Jewish peasant strong man from Poland.
Also, Tim Roth's acting simply makes this movie.
This picture however focuses on the times before Hitler's plan and about a Jewish strongman trying to put everything together.Invincible stars Tim Roth as Hanussen, a man who claims to be clairvoyant and uses it to make money for his theater.
He hires interesting acts and one of them happens to be the newly found strongman Zishe Breitbart (played by two-time World's Stongest Man Jouko Ahola), a man who didn't think that his brute strength would make him an attraction.
All Zishe cares about is whether or not the people are being tricked into following Hanussen and the Nazi party down the wrong path, and protecting one of the members of the band and Hanussen's "assisstant" Marta (Anna Gourari) and making sure she isn't harmed.This movie really does a good job of illustrating an extraordinary man's life as he goes from small town to the big city, bringing fame, respect, hatred, and fear.
Werner Herzog shot part of his feature film "INVINCIBLE" in Latvia (Riga and Kuldiga) in the spring of 2000.
Tim Roth, at the end, is not relevant, he just help to make the legend of the invincible, the strong man, the new Sanson that told to their people that a great disaster was about to happen.
The strongman was played by a real finnish 'world's strongest man' who never acted before this film.
If the name of the director, Werner Herzog, frightens you into believing that Invincible is a 'difficult' movie, I am happy to inform you of the direct opposite: It is direct, easily digested and tells a straight story based on real people and events.
The events are somewhat adjusted for making this into a tighter story about the Jewish strongman Zishe Breitbart and his great career in the Nazi-Berlin of the 1930's.
Evocative of German fables or fairy-tales, Werner Herzog's "Invincible" stars Stars Jouko Ahola as Zishe Breitbart, a Polish blacksmith.
And, I enjoyed it very much, as the film was well acted (especially Tim Roth--who was wonderfully hateful) and the story was quite interesting.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.