I was immediately taken in by this movie. Jeff Goldblum is excellent and the storyline is intriguing - at first. However, as the plot unfolds, the story becomes more and more unbelievable.
Jeff Goldblum plays a well known Jewish comic/psychic/magician in Berlin, who is being harassed as early as 1936 by the Nazis (extreme intimidation tactics like those depicted in the film don't really get underway until after Kristallnacht in November 1938.) He arrives in a camp in 1944 which seems particularly late for such a prominent Jewish citizen (the most well known Jews generally disappeared first, either through emigration or arrest.) Once interred, a peculiar relationship is created between the commandant and Jeff Goldblum who, as a prisoner, must act like a dog. He thinks this will save his family... It is difficult to believe he acted like a dog on a long term basis, but the reason this is introduced into the story is because fifteen years later he helps a boy who thinks he is a dog. This part of the story occurs in a psychiatric hospital for holocaust survivors. The boy who thinks he is a dog is about 11 years old, which means he was born well after the war and thus not a camp survivor, but this is never explained in the film.
It all reads like a plot taken from literature, which is exactly where it came from. The actors and director did an excellent job, some of the art direction (costuming, sets) was peculiar (what the hell were those boots the nurse wore!) but ultimately, you have to like an almost surreal plot line to appreciate this film. I am not a fan of this kind of literature - I prefer realism and films based on true stories. After all, truth is stranger than fiction.
Jeff Goldblum plays a well known Jewish comic/psychic/magician in Berlin, who is being harassed as early as 1936 by the Nazis (extreme intimidation tactics like those depicted in the film don't really get underway until after Kristallnacht in November 1938.) He arrives in a camp in 1944 which seems particularly late for such a prominent Jewish citizen (the most well known Jews generally disappeared first, either through emigration or arrest.) Once interred, a peculiar relationship is created between the commandant and Jeff Goldblum who, as a prisoner, must act like a dog. He thinks this will save his family... It is difficult to believe he acted like a dog on a long term basis, but the reason this is introduced into the story is because fifteen years later he helps a boy who thinks he is a dog. This part of the story occurs in a psychiatric hospital for holocaust survivors. The boy who thinks he is a dog is about 11 years old, which means he was born well after the war and thus not a camp survivor, but this is never explained in the film.
It all reads like a plot taken from literature, which is exactly where it came from. The actors and director did an excellent job, some of the art direction (costuming, sets) was peculiar (what the hell were those boots the nurse wore!) but ultimately, you have to like an almost surreal plot line to appreciate this film. I am not a fan of this kind of literature - I prefer realism and films based on true stories. After all, truth is stranger than fiction.