Invincible
[Thanks to my father, Richard, for suggesting we see this film, and for the discussion we had about it afterwards.]
Werner Herzog is a German director, and until I saw Invincible, I’d never heard of him. As well as making feature films, he also makes documentaries, including the bizarre ‘Werner Herzog Eats His Shoes’.
Invincible is his latest feature, and it’s astounding. The film is about a Jewish strongman – Zishe Breitbart (excellently played by an actual strongman, Jouko Ahola). Near the beginning of the film, Ziche moves to Berlin and is paid to perform on stage at Gestapo-attended cabarets.
One of the pervasive themes in the film is authenticity. Herzog photographs Ziche’s peasant home town in Poland tenderly and softly. The camera lingers over the bruised, dirty fruit at the market, the sawdust covering the floor of the small circus tent. It seems to just record the environment, roving around the village taking in whatever is there. The over-riding colour is a pale, earthly brown.
Once Ziche reaches Berlin, everything changes to being sharp and angular. Bold stripes of colour set against black dominate the frame, or the austere grey uniforms of the German soldiers. The cabaret is full of illusion and spectacle. It is paper thin. This is in contrast to Ziche’s feats of strength which are genuine.
Ziche has been hired for the cabaret by Erik-Jan Hanussen, played by Tim Roth. Almost all the characters seem to be played by non-actors. Watching them is like seeing the images from a camera that happened to be present at the actual events. Tim Roth acts well, but it is clear he is acting, and that contrasts with the naturalism of the rest of the cast.
Invincible is one of the best films released in the last year. It has finished its cinema run in the UK, but I urge you to rent it on video if you can.