The Believer

"He's a jew. He’s a Neo-Nazi. With one true enemy… Himself!"

2001 1h 38m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🍅

81%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 695🍅81%Rotten Tomatoes●75Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 42,325

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A hardcore US racist skinhead who, because of his intelligence, leads a gang dedicated to fighting the enemy: the supposed American-Jewish conspiracy for domination. However, he's hiding a secret: he's Jewish-born, a brilliant scholar whose questioning of the tenets of his faith has left him angry and confused, turning against those who he thinks have a tragic history of their own making.

“He's a jew. He’s a Neo-Nazi. With one true enemy… Himself!”

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Cast

Ryan Gosling
Danny Balint
Summer Phoenix
Carla Moebius
Theresa Russell
Lina Moebius
Billy Zane
Curtis Zampf
Garret Dillahunt
Billings
A.D. Miles
Guy Danielsen
Glenn Fitzgerald
Drake
Elizabeth Reaser
Miriam

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Bean
Writers: Henry Bean, Henry Bean, Mark Jacobson
Languages: Hungarian, Hebrew, English
Countries: United States of America, Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 87% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Hungarian, Hebrew, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Bean, shot by Jim Denault. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joel Diamond. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mayin Lo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Bean directs. Jim Denault behind the camera. Joel Diamond scores. Mayin Lo cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, Canada. Dialogue in Hungarian, Hebrew, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 87% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
325 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Hungarian, Hebrew, English.
5International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.
6Directed by Henry Bean, shot by Jim Denault. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Joel Diamond. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Mayin Lo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Ryan Gosling and Summer Phoenix and Theresa Russell carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "He's a jew. He’s a Neo-Nazi. With one true enemy… Himself!".
11IMDB entry: tt0247199 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.