Hanussen (1988)

Please don't spend money on this.

Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely the worst movie.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

„Hanussen" is the third and final cooperation between director Istvan Szabo and Klaus-Maria Brandauer and in my personal opinion, the most underrated of this semi-trilogy."Hanussen" tells the (partially fictionalized) story of the historic hypnotizer and clairvoyant Jan-Erik Hanussen. However, Szabo has taken the liberty to change the characters background. Here, Hanussen was born Klaus Schneider, a veteran of WW1, who has gained hypnotic power and the gift of clairvoyance after suffering a head injury on the battleground. With those powers, Schneider changes his name to Hanussen, becoming one of the most celebrated magicians in pre-Nazi Germany. As the Nazi party rises to power, so does Hanussens fame and reputation. Eventually (and inevitably) Hanussen comes to the attention of the Nazis who soon use him as a tool and finally, having outlived his usefulness, discard him.For the third time Brandauer plays a character that wishes for more than what he perceives himself as: the self-loathing officer "Oberst Redl", who's ashamed of his ethic background and sexuality; the brilliant actor in "Mephisto" who tries to camouflage his lower class background and egomania – in "Hanussen" Brandauer shows us a character who wishes he was the superior, omnipotent magician he portrays on stage but, in essence, remains a frightened, wounded victim of the battlefield. Brandauers performance is magic in the truest sense; his presence fills the screen in a way that few actors do (to mind come actors like Klaus Kinski or Al Pacino).Brandauers brilliant performance aside, Szabo wants to teach us a lesson about the fickle nature of humanity, where self-perception, make-belief and reality are often very different, even incompatible, yet inseparable. And more important than the psychological implications, how those fickle traits can be exploited by (in this case) fascism, communism, capitalism or any other ambitious political movement you could name.A powerful, important piece of work with a timeless message; well deserving, despite any technical or dramaturgical flaws, 8 points from 10.

A German soldier with a serious head wound survives The Great War to become a celebrated clairvoyant in Depression-era Berlin, mesmerizing audiences (and critics) by the sheer force of his personality. No, his stage name isn't Adolph Hitler, but the parallels soon become clear. Are his powers a supernatural gift or merely sensitive guesswork? The question takes on added significance when the apolitical showman begins predicting the rise of fascism and falls under the influence (against his own will) of the fledgling Nazi Party. The film presents an intriguing, if not always cohesive, portrait of an entertainer (and by extension, a nation) under the spell of forces beyond anyone's control, with the title role coming vividly to life in Klaus Maria Brandauer's equally mesmerizing performance. His efforts helped earn the film a nomination for Best Foreign Language Feature, but the results were likely too dark and ambiguous to win the Oscar.

István Szabó is one of the best directors in Europe. He doesn't use any special effects, only unusual, demanding stories and Europe's best actors. He is an international director but he never forgets that he is actually Hungarian and there are always some Hungarian speaking people in his movies.In "Hanussen" he tells the very gripping story of a man who predicts Hitler's advancement. It was a most interesting film and I was a bit disturbed afterwards because they didn't make it quite clear whether it's based on a true story or not.However, watch this movie. It's also a great performance by Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Of the many Brandauer films I have seen, this is the best. He has a truly extraordinary face and he really acts with his expressions.As usual,Szabo throws in the Hungarian factor even though most of his films occur outside of his home country. And very little Hungarian is spoken. This character Hanussen is based on a true story, but since I don't believe in the supernatural I can't validate what happens in the film as true. Szabo makes consistently interesting films but it seems that all I have seen has been under Communist rule