The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

Sporting the most bizarre title I’ve seen in years, this inventive action/adventure/alternative history film centers on an American legend no one has ever heard of. During World War II, Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott) remained anonymous, although he was secretly the soldier who shot the Führer. Quietly living out his retirement years in a small northeastern town along the Canadian border, Barr’s constant companion is his golden retriever. Barr often recalls the moment when his aptitude for languages and knowledge of 1940s-era weaponry led him to the fateful spot where he killed Adolf Hitler, whose “ideas continued to do their damage without him.” In flashbacks, Barr is played by Aidan Turner (TV’s Poldark). Barr still mourns the loss of the love-of-his-life, a schoolteacher named Maxine (Caitlin FitzGerald), and his only friend is his gregarious younger brother (Larry Miller). But when a series of homicides occurs nearby, Barr is recruited by an FBI agent (Ron Livingston) and a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman (Rizwan Manji) to use his remarkable tracking ability. His mission: to kill the mythical Bigfoot, a creature infected with a deadly virus that could devastate mankind. And this quest leads Barr, once again, to question society’s concept of heroism. Graphic-artist-turned-filmmaker Robert D. Krzykowski’s somewhat overly talky film scores points for originality (and that title). A strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)