CitizenCaine Paul Schrader directed Adam Resurrected, a tale about a Jewish vaudeville entertainer during the Weimar period who later suffered dehumanization at the hands of a concentration camp commandant and survived. Noah Stollman adapted the screenplay from Yoram Kaniuk's novel of 40 years before, Schrader fashions another story with his infamous thematic elements of man vs. himself and man vs. man while simultaneously wavering between reality and psychological breakdown.Jeff Goldblum is Adam, a Jewish entertainer who is recognized by Commandant Klein (Willem DaFoe), at a concentration, as a talented comedian/musician, etc. from the 1930's. DaFoe dehumanizes Goldblum by making him mimic the actions of a dog, and years later, Goldblum flashes back to these events as he struggles to maintain his sanity and corral survivor's guilt. Derek Jacobi plays Dr. Nathan Gross at the sanitarium for survivor's where Adam (Goldblum) ends up. Once at the sanitarium in the 1960's, Adam (Goldblum) meets a boy who is locked up and acts like a dog. The irony is the boy will become Adam's salvation and resurrect his humanity lost long ago.The subject matter is sure to repel many people and because it is a highly artsy type of film that requires viewers to play intellectual/literary gymnastics with the continuously changing tone of the film and recognizing irony, metaphors, and symbols. Black comedy, the Holocaust, Jewish guilt, mental illness, and sexual perversion are all woven tightly together and they alternate freely in sharing the focus of any particular scene. The novel was similar in that narrators appeared who were different from previous narrators in the without readers recognizing them as such. There is also not a whole lot of action and set changes. Schrader explained the difficulty understanding the film. Confounded viewers expected simple explanations for things instead of discovering something for themselves. However, this idea of using humor to survive is not new and has been filmed many times before, often to much better effect. Life Is Beautiful comes to mind. Budget restraints are evident throughout the film with the black and white concentration camp flashbacks masking the modernity of the setting. Another area in which the low budget is evident is in the Euro-Israeli cast, although it does add an aura of authenticity. Besides the stars Goldblum, DaFoe and Jacobi, the rest of the cast is foreign including the brilliant Ayelet Zurer as Adam's (Goldblum) female interest Gina Grey. As in many lower budget films, the strengths are usually the dialog and acting. In the case of Adam Resurrected, it's mainly the acting of Goldblum and the terrific young boy playing his canine counterpart in the sanitarium: Tudor Rapiteanu. **1/2 of 4 stars.

mdshualy To deal with the inconceivable you need to create a vocabulary that extends beyond the conventional. The powerful performances, the extraordinary literary devices and the sublime directing and editing help enormously. The end result, a satisfying glimpse into the ineffable is achieved by providing a vision, revealing a landscape that defies revelation. An unique and necessary achievement. An artistic collaborative triumph of the spirit. The difficulties in the conventional narrative are actually an opportunity to explore facets of the spectrum human behavior, from the animal/dog, human and the divine within. Most helpful was the extras on the DVD that provided additional background. BRAVO! And now part II please.

Amit K This is a thought provoking movie. The acting of Jeff Goldblum is just outstanding. Willem Dafoe as usual is one great actor as well.This is a serious movie and an introspection in self. It is not a war oriented movie but a sad story about a man who is so misunderstood by his family and the world. Is he really wrong ? you will undergo the journey in this man's shoes. Not a hero but a survivor who survived by being a dog, a gifted one who did all he can to survive... was it fear of losing his life that he obeyed his masters or is it a total surrender he adopted towards those who were committing atrocities. It is surrender of all self respect, dignity and ego as that of a perfect slave. Did Adam really regret what he did and why he did ? This movie does not judge the character but takes you on a journey, a journey of introspection of someone you never want to be but may admire.

NaturaTek Jeff acting is great, like always. It's the whole theme of the movie, dark and just a little wacky at times, like getting turned on if the woman barks like a dog. I would totally understand if this movie was based on a true story and the movie is a interpretation of the book or something, but it's not. It's fiction story based on a holocaust survivor. Just makes you think what's going on inside of the head of these writers to write such a fictional event. Relating a human to a dog and getting turned on by watching a human bark like a dog. It maybe disturbing for some, and I see the reason why HowardStern found it disturbing as well.Acting/performance is great, director shot is great. Just a shame so much talent and performance went into a fictional storyline that's a bit on the disturbing side.