Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
blacknorth
Some spoilers.Not a film about the holocaust, more about accountability in post-war Germany. For that reason I think some reviewers may have missed the point.Robert Lindsay's minor SS officer, responsible for the murder of Sher's Jewish comedian during the holocaust, is doing well for himself during the German economic miracle of the 1950's. Sher returns to haunt and, with any luck, turn him.This covers very different territory from the likes of Schindler's List and Shoah. It concerns the fate of lower rank officers and officials, the pen-pushers of the holocaust, and their transformation after the war into respectable citizens. Quite possible for an ex-mass-murderer to become a police official in the 'new' Germany, as Lindsay does. Sher's ghost is the tiniest fragment of his remaining guilt and, in the final stunning scene, walks through the streets of prosperous rebuilt Berlin dressed in his concentration camp uniform.It's funny and moving and serious and features two great performances from Lindsay and Sher. See it if you can.
ebdavid-1
First, i hope my English is sufficient enough to say all i want. I saw this movie 13 years ago but not ever since so i remember very little of it. I sure have something to say about it. This movie is not about Jewish culture. I don't think that was the objective of the movie. it doesn't speak of the holocaust in a nut shell, or through the eyes of a deranged police officer who just lost his mind over visits of his personal ghost. liver and onion are not the only thing Jews eat and certainly they don't use 'meshuganeh' on everyday spoken language. Unfortunately Yeddish is becoming a forgotten language for many people who live in Israel because of rude government directed estrangement and short sighted, ignorant educational program. But what of it? don't you ever use the word "crazy" every now and then? I have a question or two: 1.. What's wrong with comedy - for many people it seems as if the holocaust has shut down all human feelings so laughter is forbidden? for centuries the essence of Jewish self preservation was based on humor and this movie isn't different than other humorous Jewish stories. on the contrary: all aspects must be considered and if one wants to use comedy to bring some objectives into surface, then one should do it. Since this movie wasn't about holocaust but a funny situation of "murder she wrote"/comedy - it did very well. It wasn't the best movie about post-war-guilt psychological situation because it did not mean to be like it. 2.. Why would reminders of Jewish food and Yiddish slang offend anyone (or raise anger)? it was the natural habitat of an entire Jewish European people. Jews are not only about great writers and scientists, they're not all Einsteins. Openheimers,Boers, Mendelsons, Yasha Hefets and so forth. But also about common people who were mostly farmers and tailors and carpenters who used common (slang) Yiddish language as many Christians (if they wanted their way in local commerce)for everyday life - so food. language, habits, and even, god forbid, comedians would be very good examples among the unfortunate six millions. Genghis Cohn is maybe one small example that represents the whole
artguyofatlanta
I enjoyed it immensely. If you are looking for deep discussions on the Holocaust or the Jewish plight in history or this movie as a historical perspective, don't. It was a lot like Catch 22 or even watching George Costanza on Seinfeld. It's funny in a very uncomfortable way, not roll in the isles funny. I would still recommend it. Besides, Diana Rigg is still hot after all these years!
Matt M.
This movie deals with a Jewish comedian, killed in a concentration camp, who `haunts' his former captors by coming back and gradually turning them Jewish. There are some interesting themes here, and they are presented in an interesting manner, but the major failing of the film is the lackluster dialogue and rather insipid story arc. Worth a look if you are interested in the Holocaust from the `German guilt' perspective, simply because so few movies have been made on the subject. Also Sher's performance as the title character is pretty good. Very Alan Cummings.~
