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6.9A 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.
Cast
- Ryan Gosling as Danny Balint
- Summer Phoenix as Carla Moebius
- Theresa Russell as Lina Moebius
- Billy Zane as Curtis Zampf
- Garret Dillahunt as Billings
- A.D. Miles as Guy Danielsen
Themes
- new york city
- neo-nazism
- antisemitism
- bigotry
- hatred
- self-loathing
- antijudaism
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Ratings
IMDb
7.1/10
42,325 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
82%
Metacritic
75/100
- Year
- 2001
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- Awards
- 6 wins & 10 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Directed by
- Henry Bean
- Screenplay by
- Henry Bean
- Story by
- Henry Bean Mark Jacobson
- Produced by
- Susan Hoffman Christopher Roberts
- Starring
- Ryan Gosling Billy Zane Theresa Russell Summer Phoenix
- Cinematography
- Jim Denault
- Edited by
- Mayin Lo Lee Percy
- Music by
- Joel Diamond
- Production company
- Seven Arts Pictures
- Distributed by
- Fireworks Pictures , IDP Distribution
- Release dates
- January 19, 2001 ( 2001-01-19 ) ( Sundance ) May 17, 2002 ( 2002-05-17 ) (United States)
- Running time
- 98 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Languages
- English Hebrew
- Budget
- $1.5 million
- Box office
- $1.3 million
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 99
- FilmAffinity ID
- 997907
- Official website
- www.palmpictures.com/film/the-believer.php
Show 3 more facts
- publication date
- 2002-05-17
- title
- The Believer
- review score
- 75/100
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~9 min read
Article
The Believer is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Henry Bean in his feature directorial debut, based on a story by Bean and Mark Jacobson. Starring Ryan Gosling, Billy Zane, Theresa Russell, and Summer Phoenix, the film follows Daniel Balint, a Jew who becomes a neo-Nazi. The film is loosely based on 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.
The Believer premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. It was theatrically released in the United States on May 17, 2002, to positive reviews, with particular praise for Gosling's performance. The film earned several accolades, including the Golden St. George at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival. It received four nominations at the 17th Independent Spirit Awards, Best First Feature and Best Screenplay for Bean, Best Male Lead for Gosling, and Best Supporting Female for Summer Phoenix.