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Fighter (2001)
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:23
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.3/10
Theatrical Release:Aug 24, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: FIGHTER follows two friends, Jan Wiener, to whom the title refers, and Arnost Lustig, a writer--both in their seventies, and both exiles from Communist Czechoslovakia now living in America--as they... FIGHTER follows two friends, Jan Wiener, to whom the title refers, and Arnost Lustig, a writer--both in their seventies, and both exiles from Communist Czechoslovakia now living in America--as they retrace Wiener's escape from Prague after the Nazi takeover in the 1930s. Wiener's trek took him via Yugoslavia and Italy to London, where he joined the British Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot. Upon returning to Prague after the war, he was falsely accused of being a spy by the Communist regime, and spent five years in a labor camp. Incorporating rare archival footage from Nazi and Communist propaganda films, the documentary focuses on the interaction between Wiener and Lustig as they retrace Wiener's steps and track down some of the individuals connected with his journey. Although they are linked by their similar personal histories surrounding the war, the two friends are eventually driven apart by their conflicting interpretations of the past and their fundamental philosophical differences. Director Amir Bar-Lev's unusual and vastly inquisitive documentary was an acclaimed hit at film festivals as well as in its theatrical release. [More]
Starring: Jan Wiener, Arnost Lustig
Starring: Jan Wiener, Arnost Lustig
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Producer: Amir Bar-Lev
Composer: Mark Governor, Bedrich Smetana
Studio: First Run Features
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Reviews for Fighter
'A humanistic piece about how the Holocaust, fascism, and the Second World War left permanent emotional scars on everyone who lived through it.'
No larger aspect of what is in this film can be new to us; but seeing it in this old-friends perspective gives all of it, familiar and new, a novel effect.
What unfolds onscreen is remarkable: The passions and arguments of the past are resurrected in the present.
Bar-Lev's intimacy with his subjects is remarkable, and it allows him to reveal how these men have managed to become and remain friends.
Reminds us that different people react to madness -- in this case, the Holocaust -- in different ways.
Even if these guys hadn't each gone through so much strife and real tragedy in their life, they're just interesting right now to see them going back and forth.
Less a document of wartime experience than of the mentality one needs to maintain in order to be a fighter, and the danger of attacking, however benignly, cherished beliefs.
The fight and its aftermath don't provide an especially satisfying conclusion to the piece.
Even though I'm not sure it should have even been made, the final product is at least emotionally impressive and absolutely debate inspiring.
Not surprisingly, it's moving; but it's also endlessly engaging, uproariously funny at moments, informative, and eventually touching in ways one might not have expected.
Even when the bickering diminishes the impact of the story, Wiener himself makes Fighter another interesting story to come out of World War II atrocities.
A fascinating real-life narrative documentary of two men who become friends in America after having taken two different paths to survive the Holocaust that consumed the rest of their families.
Shapes up as one of the great documentaries of this year, or any other.
Historically and emotionally potent -- as well as the funniest movie of the summer, thanks mostly to Lustig's understated but pungent wit.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
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| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
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