Invincible

Color, PG-13 (mature themes, sexual situations), 131 min., VHS rental, DVD $26.98

DVD: no extras

Street: June 3, Prebook: May 6

First Run: L, Sept. 2002, $$1 mil.

Cast: Tim Roth (Planet of the Apes), Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari, Max Raabe, Jaconb Wein

NEW LINE/WARNER

Variety Said: It has been 10 years since Herzog's last dramatic feature film was released, which makes the ambitious Invincible all the more disappointing. Based on true events in 1932 Germany--the year before Hitler and the Nazis came to power--the film's story of a naïve Jewish circus-style strongman (Ahola) who is hired as an entertainer by fanatically pro-Nazi hypnotist--showman Hanussen (Roth) needed more irony, subtlety and dramatic structure than Herzog brings to the material, and as a result, this potentially intriguing story winds up being dull and at times faintly silly. Commercial prospects are limited, though Herzog's reputation might help the film open in some territories.

VB Takes a Look: Herzog's best fiction films have always had a strong lead performer, be it Klaus Kinski or the enigmatic "Bruno S." In the case of Invincible, the lead performer is literally a strong man, bodybuilder Ahola, but he possesses a smaller-than-life screen presence. By comparison, supporting player Roth is superb as the oily, vindictive Hanussen, to the extent that one wishes the film presented his story (that was the case in Hungarian filmmaker Istvan Szabo's 1988 Hanussen, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer). Invincible marks a turning point for Herzog, because it focuses on a compassionate hero who refuses to be victimized. Fans of the filmmaker's classics including Aguirre, Stroszek and Fitzcarraldo might not be prepared for the kinder, gentler Herzog, but they will delight in Roth's scenes, as well as the evocative period detail. --Ed Grant

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