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Movies / Upcoming / Adam Resurrected
Adam Resurrected

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Adam Resurrected (2008)

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Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:13

Rotten:24

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: Such an unusual tale might have made for a compelling drama, but Adam Resurrected suffers from narrative confusion and an emotional detachment at its core.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: The trouble with Holocaust movies is that they're about the Holocaust; they resurrect an illustrious horror, habited by history's most reliable demons, with little to say except that, yes, this was... The trouble with Holocaust movies is that they're about the Holocaust; they resurrect an illustrious horror, habited by history's most reliable demons, with little to say except that, yes, this was a tragedy. ADAM RESURRECTED isn't likely to fit anyone's definition of a Holocaust movie. As director Paul Schrader (AFFLICTION) summarized, "It's a film about a man who once was a dog who meets a dog who once was a boy." Clear enough? Jeff Goldblum plays Adam Stein, a Jeff Goldblum-esque Jewish entertainer who survived the concentration camps by being the personal dog for Commandant Klein (Willem Dafoe). While his wife and daughter were being incinerated, Adam was entertaining on all fours, fighting with a German Shepherd over scraps, and getting his ears lovingly scratched. Ever since, he's been in and out of a psychiatric hospital for survivors in Israel. There, the ex-magician casts his spell over patients and staff, particularly his gorgeous nurse Gina (Ayelet Zurer). But when Adam discovers an abused child in the hospital who acts like a dog, it brings back his traumatic past--and may offer a chance for redemption. Based on the novel by Yoram Kaniuk, ADAM RESURRECTED is a mystifying mixed metaphor that skirts the edge between reality and dream. Enhancing the uncanny atmosphere is Goldblum who, warbling in and out of his German accent, is a delight to watch. If meaning is opaque, the film is resolutely fearless, with many moments not often seen on film--including a Nazi appearing from a burning bush, canine sexual roleplay, and an adolescent in loincloth being led by chain--or likely seen again. [More]

Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi, Ayelet Zurer

Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi, Ayelet Zurer, Moritz Bleibtreu

Director: Paul Schrader

Director: Paul Schrader
Producer: Ehud Bleiburg, Werner Wirsing

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Reviews for Adam Resurrected

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Could have been a tour de force for director Paul Schrader and his cast, and the glimpses of greatness make the reality all the more disappointing.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
12/16/08
Alissa Wilkinson
Alissa Wilkinson
Christianity Today

This is the rare film that is memorable, affecting, and bad.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
12/11/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Finally, though, what do all Schrader's visual grotesqueries achieve?

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
12/07/08
Andrew Schenker
Andrew Schenker
Slant Magazine

It seems to have been written in a tone of magical realism, but the director is Paul Schrader, a filmmaker who has many talents, but no feel for whimsy, let alone magic.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/19/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

A well-acted, sporadically intriguing drama that has a few poignant moments...but its convoluted, unfocused plot fails to pack an emotional wallop as a whole.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
01/31/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

The conclusion of the film conveys a sense of moderate relief over life-altering transformation, shortchanging the miracle Goldblum is working overtime to achieve.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
12/18/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

Between Jeff Goldblum's wildly over-mannered performance and the schlocky treatment of serious subject matter, it's hard to know whether to simply dismiss the film or be outraged by it.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
12/11/08
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

...a wrong-headed and surprisingly interminable failure from prolific filmmaker Schrader.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
10/28/08
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

It offers little justification for a viewer to sit through such a depressing film.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/25/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Grapples with important themes and is expertly made, but is simply too odd and off-putting to be anything more than an almost grotesque curiosity.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
01/05/09
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

There's no doubt about this one extending [Paul Schrader's] run of low profile non-events.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
12/11/08
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

An experience that is intellectual where it should be emotional, one belonging more on the stage than on the screen, a picture to be respected more than wrapped up in.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
11/05/08
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Might have been a touching story of deep irony if Schrader's approach didn't suffer so much from narrative confusion in an effort to convey the disorientation at its center.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/14/08
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Especially disappointing after Schrader's precise and undervalued character study The Walker, though by this point it should be clear that erraticism is a key facet of his artistry.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
10/22/08
Keith Uhlich
Keith Uhlich
UGO

A semi-unbearable attempt at profundity set in a mental institution 15 years after WWII.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/12/08
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

Weird combination of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and a Holocaust drama is (almost) saved by Jeff Goldblum's commanding lead performance.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/11/08
Lewis Beale
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International

The director’s absent conviction fails to make the film’s absurdities tragic, and instead comes close to rendering its tragedies absurd.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
12/10/08
Mark Holcomb
Mark Holcomb
Time Out New York

Watching an entire film revolving around Goldblum becomes an exercise in frustration.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
12/11/08
Mark Peikert
Mark Peikert
New York Press

This is a really off-the-wall nihilistic fantasy that may please a small segment of the audience and perhaps even become a cult film.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
12/16/08
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The ending throws away the complexity that makes the rest of the movie so interesting

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
04/21/09
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Adam Resurrected

October 30, 2008: DIY Distribution Comes of Age Opens in new window
Once strictly the realm of the truly hard to watch, DIY film distribution is on the upswing among filmmakers disenchanted with the studio system. More...

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