The Believer (2001)

A young Jewish man descends into a life of violent neo-Nazism while grappling with his own heritage.

First release year

2001

Runtime (minutes)

98

Production countries

United States

Original languages

English; Hebrew

Directors

Henry Bean

Writers

Henry Bean · screenplay; Henry Bean · story; Mark Jacobson · story

Cast and characters

Ryan Gosling · Daniel Balint; Billy Zane; Theresa Russell; Summer Phoenix

Genres

drama

Themes

Antisemitism; Identity; Fascism; Religious conflict; Guilt

Tone and mood

Provocative; Intellectually challenging; Raw; Moving

Setting

New York and the surrounding countryside in the early 2000s.

Premise and plot tags

True Story Based; Coming-of-age; Independent Film; Religious Drama

Source material / true-story basis

The true story of Dan Burros, a member of the American Nazi Party and the New York branch of the United Klans of America who died by suicide after being revealed as Jewish by a reporter from The New York Times.

Reception

The film received positive reviews, particularly for Ryan Gosling's performance, and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Reported review scores

Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · review count: 95

Awards and nominations

Golden St. George · 23rd Moscow International Film Festival · Win

Production trivia

The film was produced on a budget of $1.5 million and grossed $1.3 million.

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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