INVINCIBLE isn't a bad film, it's just that you expect more from Herzog as director. There are shades of his 1970s classics in the story of an oddball loner and strongman who ends up taking to the stage and becoming an Aryan hero despite his Jewish ancestry. This one starts off well but gradually loses steam as it goes on, and in the end I felt it dawdled quite a bit. An interesting story for sure and quite frightening at what it portrays, but Herzog feels half asleep here.

Of the filmmaker Werner Herzog, I've heard and read strange things about him and his films. That two of his works, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, and Fitzceraldo, are two of the most bizarre modern European films. That he once ate a shoe from a bet with Errol Morris, and made a documentary about it. 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. In a way it is, and in a way its not. Although the film is rated PG-13, I would imagine that for the die-hard Herzog fans this is like his family film, or at the least kids might not be too freaked out to watch it. Surprisingly, Herzog brings a fable out of a true story, about how each side of the coin is a certain way, black or white, and whichever role you choose defines you, though there can be an exception.

There was one sequence, however, where I saw that Herzog brilliantly had a kind of surreal, one-of-a-kind filmed scene that I expected amongst the more typical dramatic scenes. It involves a dream of Zishe's (played by near unknown Jouko Ahola in a mostly one-note performance) where he walks around on a rocky beach. He is surrounded by bright red crabs, and steps around on the rock trying not to knock them down or get snipped by their claws. But he does so casually, with the searing Hans Zimmer/Klaus Blaudet music in the background. This dream occurs again towards the end of the film, as his younger brother leads him by the hand through the crabs on the rocks, somehow giving him strength. These are powerful scenes in a movie that could've been even more powerful.

Take Tim Roth's performance- it towers above all the others because most (aside from Udo Kier whom I recognized) are non-professionals. 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. Watching him is fascinating, especially when he's quiet and subtle, or in the scenes when he's on stage performing his acts. It shows how versatile he can be in this film. I just wish it was the same for the others. (strong) B+

"Invincible" purports to be the story of Zishe Breitbart, a Jewish man who made his living entertaining folks through feats of super-human strength. 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. However, being an ex-history teacher, I did what I normally do when I watch biographies or historical films--I did some digging to find out about the REAL Breitbart...and was very disappointed. Let me explain...the film purports to be about a Jew who managed to thrive in pre-WWII Berlin despite the strong climate of antisemitism. It shows Breitbart arriving in the city from Poland JUST BEFORE the Nazis came to power in 1933. And, in the epilogue, the film states that Breitbart died JUST before this Nazi takeover. However, Breitbard died in 1925--when the Nazis were an insignificant force in Germany--particularly in areas outside Bavaria. There was no cabaret filled with jack-booted Nazis watching him perform and it is highly doubtful that Breitbart returned to Poland to warn them of the pending Nazi menace. And, he did NOT die in Poland but in Germany.

The bottom line is that the film is all about the Nazis and antisemitism. But, this just wasn't the case and, sadly, tends to diminish Breitbart's life. Why not just tell it like it really was?!