Adam Resurrected (Hebrew: אדם בן כלב, romanized: Adam Ben Kelev, German: Ein Leben für ein Leben: "Life for Life") is a 2008 American-German-Israeli drama film directed by Paul Schrader and written by Noah Stollman based on a 1969 novel of the same name (he:אדם בן כלב) by Israeli author Yoram Kaniuk. The Hebrew title literally translates to Adam, Son of a Dog.[a]
The film, part of which is told through a series of flashbacks, follows the story of Adam Stein, a charismatic patient of a fictitious psychiatric asylum for Holocaust survivors in Israel, in 1961. Adam was a comedian in Berlin prior to the Second World War, during which he was sent to a concentration camp. Adam manages to survive the war only because his pre-war act was recalled by an SS officer, who takes Adam as his "pet," insisting he act like a dog (as he did during one of his sketches). His humiliation was his ticket to survival, as he was even forced to play the fiddle as his wife and daughter were led to the gas chambers. While he is outwardly charming and witty, Adam is tormented by survivor's guilt and delusions that he is a dog.[2][3][4][5] While at the institution, he engages in a romantic relationship with a nurse, takes on a quasi-mentor role for a younger patient sharing a similar delusion of being a dog, and undergoes a profound revelation of psychic ability during a religious ecstasy, seeing himself as a potential messiah for the other patients.
Adam Resurrected received a mixed response from critics. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 35%, based on 37 reviews, with a rating average of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Such an unusual tale might have made for a compelling drama, but Adam Resurrected suffers from narrative confusion and an emotional detachment at its core."[7] The website Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]
Adam Resurrected received several positive reviews. Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "In a less competitive year, Jeff Goldblum would have had a shot at an Oscar nod for his performance in Adam Resurrected, in which he plays Adam Stein, a mental patient irrevocably haunted by his Holocaust survival. This original drama is less glum than it might sound, thanks to Goldblum's spirited, go-for-broke portrayal and director Paul Schrader's distinctive translation of Noah Stollman's script."[4]
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club graded the film a B, also praising Goldblum, whom he credits with a "stunning lead performance." He compared the film's concept with the "notorious unreleased Jerry Lewis monstrosity" that is The Day the Clown Cried, but that Goldblum's performance made Adam Resurrected work. Rabin writes: "Goldblum sells this wildly theatrical character through sheer magnetism. The otherworldly nature of his restless, nervous charisma has seldom been put to better use. Even when it flies off the rails deep into its third act, Resurrected remains strangely hypnotic."[5]
F. X. Feeney of LA Weekly gave a rave review. He compared the film's structure to Federico Fellini's classic 8½, writing: "Where Fellini made ecstasy contagious, Schrader is after much darker vistas — the mystery of how good men fail, and condemn themselves. One cannot recommend this film strongly enough."[3]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, finding it unfunny and full of missed opportunities. "Savage gallows humor might have substituted for pathos. But Adam Resurrected feels so detached that there is not a laugh, nor even a wicked smirk of nihilistic glee, to be gleaned."[2]
^A pun lost in translation: in Hebrew, "Adam" also means "man", so the title may also be read as "A Man, Son of a Dog". Also "ben kelev/kalba" is a Hebrew swear akin to "son of a bitch".
