Two acting powerhouses square off under dramatic circumstances in “My Neighbor Adolf,” directed and co-written by Leon Prudovsky. The German actor Udo Kier, whose performances can be both frighteningly intense and wryly funny, is paired with David Hayman, the stalwart Scottish character actor who in turn can morph from steely to vulnerable in the blink of an eye.
Hayman plays Polsky, a solitary man and a Holocaust survivor living in Colombia in 1960. A chirpy real-estate agent, Frau Kaltenbrunner (Olivia Silhavy), brings the unwelcome news that not only will Polsky have a next-door neighbor, but that recent surveying has found that his prized rosebush is on that neighbor’s property. Polsky is not mollified when the neighbor, one Mr. Herzog, shows up. He’s short, wiry, with a rather oversize gray beard. But what Polsky really notices are the man’s ayes, which reach just up to the mail slot in his fence. They are a fierce, haunting blue.
There have been many fictions concerning the idea that Hitler survived World War II and repatriated to South America. On the ridiculous side, there’s the 1968 exploitation movie “They Saved Hitler’s Brain.” On the profound literary side there’s George Steiner’s stunning 1981 novella “The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H.”
“My Neighbor Adolf” reaches no such depths or heights. While the lead actors are clearly committed, the movie gives them little to do besides exchange verbal invective. At one point, they also exchange dog feces (Herzog has a German shepherd who befouls Polsky’s yard). One could call this a squandered opportunity, but then one would also have to ask, “To do what, exactly?”
My Neighbor Adolf Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters.
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