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The Believer (2001) Dogburt
Folks, it doesn't get any more complex than this, which is one of the reasons why you may never see "The Believer" playing in a theater near you. Hollywood pundits don't think that we're intelligent and mature enough to process something that not only touches on the fringe but also brings us into the intricacy of hate crime. Oh, they've come close. Ed Norton's "American History X" comes to mind. But that only presents a simplistic picture of inner conflict and the search for redemption. The Jewish community felt so strongly against "The Believer" that they refused to endorse it. As a result, no major company picked it up, and if it weren't for Showtime, it may never have even seen the light of day. Even then, it's still practically impossible to find, despite the fact that it won the Grand Jury Price at the Sundance Film Festival. I had to travel to the Charlottesville Film Festival to see it, and despite the two-hour drive, it was well worth the trip. "The Believer" tells the tale of a neo-nazi skinhead named Daniel Balint, a young man who hates all Jews. He believes that they are an infection of society, and only through their elimination can the world be right again. He is young, violent, and extremely articulate. Our first image of Danny is following a Jewish student from a train into an isolated street and promptly beating him down. The acerbic irony of his controversial position is that Danny himself is Jewish. First time director Henry Bean takes a huge risk at such a portrayal and succeeds in stirring deep emotions. After the violent introduction of Danny, we see him joining up with a neo-fascist group in order to accomplish his goal of killing Jews. He is a hit with the group, possessing a dark magnetism and intelligence that the others are unfamiliar with. His knowledge of the Jewish customs makes him the perfect weapon against them. He is immediately inducted and given prominence to accomplish his sadistic ends. While we see him attempting to carry out his goals, we are given flashbacks of his days as a yeshiva student, where we can see the beginnings of his anger. We repeatedly see his arguments with his teacher when, during a discussion about Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac, Danny speaks out against the theology. Instead of God's mercy in the event, he sees God as a power hungry madman. Danny claims that his own faith surpasses that of the others because he can see through the teaching to the heart of the matter. This perspective gets him thrown out of school. The first few times we see this scene played out, we think "Good for them! Kick him out!" But as the movie unfolds, we are not so quick to condemn him. Slowly as we learn more about Danny, we see the dichotomy play out. Yes, he hates Jews. Unfortunately, that means he hates himself. This is evidenced when, after confronted by a reporter who found out that he's Jewish, Danny tells him that if he prints the story he will kill himself. Later, Danny is put in sensitivity counseling where he and his fellow skinheads are forced to converse with Holocaust survivors. As one of the men relay his story about watching his son get impaled by the Gestapo, Danny lashes out against him for doing nothing to save his son. In the very next breath, he loudly rebukes his skinhead comrades for not understanding the importance and nuances of the Torah. He is starting to become unraveled. The struggle continues when Danny assists in the planting of a bomb in a synagogue, yet refuses to allow the other skinheads to defile the Holy Scriptures. He even goes so far as to bring the scrolls back to his apartment to repair it, and in the process begins to teach his girlfriend how to read the text. Soon he himself is becoming re-submerged in the Jewish faith, all the while repeating his claim that he must kill a Jew before too much time passes. The climax of the film culminates in Danny leading a Jewish worship service while knowing that a bomb is planted underneath the podium. It is here that Danny finally makes claim on his promise. I cannot claim to know a great deal about the Jewish faith. I have studied the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, but fall far short when it comes to the devotion that Danny displays. Many people will find this movie offensive and anti-Semitic. In one interpretation, I think that is the logical conclusion. However, in another vein, Danny demonstrates that his claim for his faith is indeed strong. We need to understand why he hates- that is the real question behind the movie. If we can truly understand that question, then we find why he does believe.
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