Review of The Believer (2001) by Ai H — 16 Dec 2008

This is a good thought-provoking, or may I say, belief-provoking film, in some weird senses. Being obsessed with anything to do with Nazi and Jews and even considering myself an atheist, I, matter-of-factly, am attracted to this film. A Jew becoming a Neo-Nazi? For me it's a must-watch, and I was not let down.

I can't believe Ryan Gosling gave such a good performance at his early 20's. His Danny, so tortured, so confused, so torn between and so believable, which made this film more realistic. In my opinion, it's not about Jew and Nazi. It's about your origin, your supposed-to-be default belief, your rebellious thoughts and what you've become and how you reconcile them all. For Danny, there's no way out, there's nothing he can do when all come crashing down. The ending, his ending is evident and unavoidable for someone like him. But, it makes me wonder... will there always will be an impasse for things like these?