Invincible (2001)

I don't really have a whole lot to say about Invincible. It's been about two weeks since I've seen it, but it's still sloshing around in my noggin, so what the heck.

The film almost seems un-Herzog-ian (too many hyphens), but the tone and mood are unmistakable. It concerns a Jewish strongman, played by Jouko Ahola, an actual strongman who did all his own..feats. He becomes a popular act in a nightclub owned by Tim Roth's character. His ethnicity and religion are a problem, so he is passed off as an Aryan and draws huge crowds. It seems rather cliche, but it is mostly fascinating. Of course, there's the typical Herzog themes, it explores obsession, drive, madness and power.

It's not Herzog's best work, but, like all the great artists, his sub-par is well above most other films. Like all of his other films, it has an indescribable magic to it, and it's practically entrancing. Herzog certainly has a gift for finding images.

One of the most intriguing parts of the film concerns Tim Roth's character, Hanussen. Supposedly, he is clairvoyant, and he uses this as his club's main draw. Towards the end of the film, Zishe unmasks him as a fraud, not only because he isn't Aryan, but because his entire act is a trick (much like in Nightmare Alley). Fairly normal stuff for a film, but later, Zishe begins to have visions of his people being oppressed, and wonders if Hanussen's powers have transferred to him. Yet, he just denounced them as a fraud a little while ago, which makes you wonder about Zishe's visions.

One of my favorite parts stems from how well I know Herzog. I've been talking with my mom about Hitchcock lately, and I always tell her that I have a hard time spotting his cameos, because I'm so wrapped up in the film. Because Herzog is such an overwhelming presence, often narrating his own films, and of course, being featured in documentaries, I feel like I know him even more than I know his films. During the past when a man is addressing the crowd at the nightclub, you hear a man scream out "Swindler! You swindler! It is unthinkable that a Jew has such strength!" Of course, I instantly recognized it as Herzog, and I replayed the scene three or four times, because he's got a great voice.

Probably the best part of the film is the ending. Because we've gone through this whole ordeal, we've seen Zishe's strength, his vulnerability and his humanity, we feel a deep empathy for him. We've seen him actually lifting 900 pounds (here's where Ahola's real-life training comes in handy). At the end of the film, when he gets infected, we have a feeling that something will happen to him, and we dread it, because not only have we grown to care for him, we're able to see that his visions will come true shortly, and we hope he would be able to lead his people. It's strange, because most filmmakers would probably milk this situation, make the entire film about a man who was so strong, who ends up completely helpless. But, with Invincible, Herzog has tacked it on, almost as an afterthought. "By the way, after all that happens, then this happens at the end..." The film is rich and satisfying as it is, but this final touch in the story really makes it all the more fulfilling. Not only does it entertain, but it leaves you with some thought-provoking ideas to bring into the real world.