Set in the middle of the Israeli desert, Adam Resurrected takes place in 1961 and tracks the life of Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum) who is recommitted to an asylum for unstable Holocaust survivors. Adam reacclimates to the asylum and takes on a ringleader role reminiscent of McMurphey in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with the rest of the patients. Unlike the sane McMurphey, though, Adam has his own demented demons to fight from his past captivity in a concentration camp in Germany.
As the film progresses, the audience is left to wonder whether Adam will find a way to help his fellow patients and unintentionally save himself, or whether Adam will slip into insanity and lose himself to his past trauma.
Jeff Goldblum’s portrayal of Adam was perfect casting at work. Goldblum adeptly channels his erratic energy and natural sarcastic wit to the mentally unstable Adam Stein. While Goldblum’s German accent is sporadic at times, his occasional lapses can be forgiven due to his powerful flashback scenes which give Adam’s character a depth of disturbed despair lurking beneath his intellect and charm. These flashback scenes transition well from the color film of the present action, making use of a black-and-white aesthetic that emphasizes the emotional darkness. Oscar-nominee Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate, The Florida Project) and his portrayal of a Nazi officer is another welcome addition to the cast, and Ayelet Zurer’s (Man of Steel, Angels and Demons) nurse has a few spotlight moments as well.
The movie Adam Resurrected is unorthodox by intention. The narrative is not straightforward, and at times some actions and events are left unexplained that could be given more detail. Despite the somewhat confusing plot elements, the film (which was adapted from a fictional novel by Yoram Kaniuk) provides a biting examination of post-Holocaust survivors and their suffering in the aftermath of World War II, especially in the attempts of the asylum patients trying to find sanity in suffering without explanation.
I recommend the movie with two caveats: One, watch the film knowing that this is not your typical blockbuster-movie experience (this film is evocative of Federico Fellini's style in 8½); two, be prepared for the heavy themes of the movie about Holocaust survivors who, in a way, never “survived” their experience. Recommended.