Der Tanz des Dschinghis Cohn

In the tradition of Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR and Lubitsch's TO BE OR NOT TO BE, this British television film is a brilliant example of "black humor." With riveting performances by Robert Lindsay as a former Nazi officer - now a police chief in 1958 - and Antony Sher playing the ghost of a Jewish comedian he killed in a concentration camp, the film offers provocative reflections. In the capable hands of director Elijah Moshinsky, it's a fascinating cinematic treatment of guilt, repentance and identity transfer. While the source is Romain Gary's 1968 novel, "The Dance of Genghis Cohn," the captivating opening sequence invokes Bob Fosse's "Cabaret."