The Angel Levine

... and I DO mean it. If not literally (after all, I have not seen every movie ever created!), at least, obviously, among the ones, the many I know.

5.3 ??? The rule of thumb with IMDb is this: sometimes movies rated very highly (for example, the piece of Kannes-Kompetition-Krowned-Korean-Kraap called "Oldboy") can be truly bad. But rarely a movie worth watching is actually rated under 6. This movie, very much worth watching, is. A disgrace.

True, I give it a 10 in protest. The movie is not perfect. Its true rating should be an 8 or a 9. It has some acting flaws (Belafonte especially), the script wanders around, sometimes. However, what we have here is one of the greatest directors of all times, the Czech Jan Kadar, directing two of the greatest actors of all time, the beloved, larger-than-life Zero Mostel and the sublime Ida Kaminska in an acting/poetic/moral tour de force. A pair made in Heaven! It's true that this movie, little flaws apart, does not pander to the average audiences, but those interested in watching an excellent (while, again, not beyond criticism) movie of the incomparable director who gave us "The Shop on the Main Street" (the best movie ever about Holocaust) should not miss this just because some silly IMDb rating system decides that "American Beauty" is better than "The Angel Levine".

It isn't.

The Angel Levine is about multiple characters who have lost hope. Everyone of them deals with death in their own ways. The movie is a study on faith as much as it is a study on race. The film is flawed and worse, it is forgotten. To include two giants of the motion pictures, Zero Mostel and. Harry Belafonte, to have a limited audience is a crime. No matter what you believe, The Angel Levin talks bout the pains we all face as humans. A hidden gem of a story, I hope it continues to find an audience in years to come.

When I looked up Harry Belafonte on netflix.com, this movie was listed as available for streaming. And so it is that I'm now reviewing what was previously unknown to me. Zero Mostel is unemployed because of a bad back and his wife (Ida Kaminska) is bedridden. Belafonte claims to be an angel in order to help with his problems but he has some of his own like a woman named Sally (Gloria Foster) who can't forgive him for his condescending attitude toward her. I'll stop there and just say part of me was confused by the narrative especially when Harry just keeps on making one uncomfortable with his profanities and not-always-trusting manner. Mostel also makes himself hard to identify with especially when he argues with his wife. Still, it was fascinating to watch and I was never bored. So on that note, The Angel Levine is at the least worth a look. P.S. I have to mention that Ms. Foster was born in the same city I was which was Chicago, Ill.

An intriguing exploration of life and death, guilt and redemption. Milo O'Shea, Ida Kaminska, and especially Zero Mostel are all expert with complicated (Bernard Malamud) material. But it is Harry Belafonte as the "angel" Levine that makes this must viewing. Truly fascinating to watch. An odd, but worthwhile film.

Any film starring Zero Mostel is worth watching, and The Angel Levine is no exception. Sadly the film has aged rather poorly, with Harry Belafonte's hipster jive clearly belonging in the New York City of 30 years ago. Whether the film should be viewed literally, as a tale of personal redemption and healing, or as the fable most reviewers assume it to be, is uncertain. There's enough good acting here--especially from Mostel and Ida Kaminska as his dying wife--to recommend this strange little art piece.