Invincible (German: Unbesiegbar) is a 2001 drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog. The film stars Tim Roth, Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari, and Max Raabe. The film tells the story of a Jewish strongman in Germany. While based on the real-life figure, Zishe Breitbart (aka Ziegfried or Siegmund), Herzog uses the bare facts of Breitbart's life to weave fact and fiction (e.g., the story is set in 1932 Berlin, a full seven years after Breitbart's...
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Invincible (German: Unbesiegbar) is a 2001 drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog. The film stars Tim Roth, Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari, and Max Raabe. The film tells the story of a Jewish strongman in Germany. While based on the real-life figure, Zishe Breitbart (aka Ziegfried or Siegmund), Herzog uses the bare facts of Breitbart's life to weave fact and fiction (e.g., the story is set in 1932 Berlin, a full seven years after Breitbart's death in 1925) to create an allegory of human strength, knowing oneself, and honesty and pride in one's heritage.
The main characters are:
Seigmund Breitbart (Jouko Ahola) is the son of a blacksmith in rural Poland. He is fantastically strong, largely from working at hard labor all day. A talent agent sees how strong Breitbart is in his Jewish shtetl home and convinces him to move to Berlin where he can find work as a strongman.
Hanussen (Tim Roth), a con-man and supposed mystic, runs a cabaret variety show. Hanussen gives Breitbart a blonde...
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