‘Optimist’ isn’t rosy, but it is powerful
After a title change and a long passage of time, the fact-based Holocaust drama, “The Optimist,” and its two bright stars, are finally getting the release they deserve. But see it while you can, because it’s not the kind of film likely to win favor amid today’s demand for noisy, GGI-heavy entertainments.
It begins awkwardly, with 74-year-old Herbert Heller being informed he has cancer. Why he’s receiving this grim diagnosis in a Marin County hospital instead of a clinic is a mystery until you discover the comatose teen being rushed past him as he exits the doctor’s office is a cheesy contrivance conceived by writer-director Finn Taylor to highlight the fickle finger of fate.
Turns out, that wasn’t just any patient being rushed to Emergency for an overdose. It was Abby (Elsie Fisher), the emotionally troubled teenager, who, surprise, has been assigned by her drug counselor, Ruth (Robin Weigert), to videotape Herbert’s tale of how he survived Auschwitz. It’s a clunky setup, and you are justified in rolling your eyes. But be patient. The movie, set in 2004, is about to get gripping, as Heller not only reveals his long-hidden secrets to Abby but also hers to him.
This means, of course, a plethora of flashbacks to when a teenage Herbert, played by an exceptional Luke David Blumm, his parents (Slavko Sobin and Stella Stocker) and older brother, Hein (Oscar Hes), suffered through four years of hell at the whims of the jackbooted Germans who uprooted them from their home in Prague.
The “optimist” of the title is Heller’s jovial father, an engineer with a perpetually rosy outlook, always insisting that Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia isn’t worth the worry. It will be over shortly, he tells his terrified friends and neighbors, who wisely flee the country while he unwittingly subjects his own clan to danger.
The gist is that both Herbert and Abby are harboring acute cases of survivor’s guilt that can only be cured, theoretically, by the pair commiserating and becoming unlikely friends. Again, contrived, but Lang (best known as Col. Quaritch in the “Avatar” flicks) and Fisher (a Golden Globe nominee for “Eighth Grade”) have such potent chemistry that you let it slide. You fully invest in their characters as they transcend the vast age difference to find a common ground where both can forgive themselves for being alive when the people closest to them are not.
Blumm is right there with them, compellingly conveying the torment of a child subjected to unspeakable horrors and forced to process them on a daily basis, while relying on his quick wits to stay alive. These scenes are haunting, filmed mostly on location in Poland, adding depth to the movie’s despair. But Taylor also allows moments of joy to seep in, such as a virtuoso Jewish violinist performing for the prisoners as they toil in the gardens.
We also come to understand why Herbert has kept his childhood experiences to himself for decades, not even sharing them with his offspring. Ditto for Abby, who remains bottled up in the wake of a botched suicide pact. And as their bond deepens, so does your investment in the duo, as they discover that communication is not just a release but a solid foundation for an unbreakable friendship.
So, why then has the movie been sitting in a can for nearly 30 months after premiering at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2023? And why the title change to “The Optimist” from the original “Avenue of the Giants”? Not sure, but might it be due in part to the epidemic of antisemitism in the wake of Israel’s actions in Gaza? If so, that’s some sad and pathetic reasoning. For this is not a movie about religion or political discourse. It’s merely a very human story in which listening and compassion strive to heal all wounds, no matter the source.
Movie review
The Optimist
Rated: Not rated
Cast: Stephen Lang, Elsie Fisher, Robin Weigert, Luke David Blumm, Slavko Sobin, Stella Stocker and Oscar Hes
Director: Finn Taylor
Writer: Finn Taylor
Runtime: 102 minutes
Where: In theaters March 11
Grade: B
