“My Neighbor Adolf”

Director: Leon Prudovsky

Starring: Udo Kier, David Hayman, Olivia Silhavy

Plot: Somewhere in South America, May 1960, just after Israel’s abduction of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. Polsky, a lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor, lives in the remote countryside. He spends his days playing chess and tending his beloved rosebushes. One day, when a mysterious old German man moves in next-door, he suspects that his new neighbor is… Adolf Hitler.

Review:

I’m one of those guys that have watched many a Discovery/History Channel documentaries about Hitler and at one point was even skeptical if he even died the way they say he did. (Don’t worry, I came around to reality many moons ago)

Udo Kier and David Hayman have impeccable chemistry. They both exude sadness (for different reasons) with scenes of warmth between them. Suspense is built around Polsky’s (Hayman) ploy to challenge Herzog to games of chess and other antics to see if he really is Fuhrer.

The score is very silly and helps to elevate some of the comic bits, a la “Grumpy Old Men.” The one that distracted the hell out of me was Udo Kier’s Castro-like fake beard. That was a big misfire. But all in all? This film was better than it should’ve been.

“My Neighbor Adolf” is playing NOW in select theaters!