The Believer

Controversial drama about the deeper motives of an unusual neo-nazi. Winner of the main prize at the 2001 Sundance Festival.

The story of The Believer is loosely based on an event in the Sixties, when a member of the Ku Klux Klan committed suicide after the reporter found out he had Jewish roots.The uncommonly fierce Danny Balint is the leader of a gang of skinheads, who express their racist feelings with violence. They beat up a Hebrew student and start a fight in a kosher restaurant. After they are arrested for this last affair, as therapy they are confronted with survivors of the Holocaust. Where Danny’s friends jeer at the old people, Danny reacts very differently: he furiously blames the victims for not having fought back against the Nazis. It is obvious that Danny, unlike his buddies, is not out to swagger and prejudice. There is more at stake for this young intelligent kid, whose ideas extend further than standard slogans. His fanaticism brings him into a larger extreme rightwing organisation led by the charismatic intellectual Curtis Zamp, but even with this group, Danny doesn’t find what he is looking for. Ryan Gosling, who plays the role of Danny, provides a stunning performance and offers a very convincing picture of the troubled bully. The handheld camera makes the drama direct and penetrating. An honest and confrontational film. –IFFR