Mother Night Movie Review 1996

American writer Howard Campbell (Nolte) is recruited as a spy in pre-WWII Germany in this adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's 1962 novel. He poses as a Nazi sympathizer in broadcasts to American troops, but his anti-semitic diatribes are actually coded information crucial to the Allies. After the war, Campbell's life unravels as he loses his young wife (Lee) and the U.S. government refuses to acknowledge his efforts. He is smuggled back to the U.S., where both Israeli Nazi-hunters and twisted neo-Nazis search for him. After being captured, imprisoned in Israel, and conversing with fellow prisoner Adolf Eichmann (Gibson), Campbell realizes the moral of this dark comedy: "We are what we pretend to be." Arkin is excellent as his Greenwich Village neighbor who also has some secrets. If you look closely, you can see author Vonnegut in a cameo.

Distribution

New Line Home Video, 116 N. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, Phone: (310)854-5811, Fax: (310)854-1824, URL: http://www.newline.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 113 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Not-So-True Identity, Berlin, Books to Film: Kurt Vonnegut, Postwar, World War II Spies, Tragedy, Flashback, Germany, Justice Prevails...?, Nazis & Other Paramilitary Slugs, Israel

Screenplay

Robert B. Weide

Cast

Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kirsten Dunst, David Strathairn, Arye Gross, Frankie Faison, Bernard Behrens

Cinematography

Tom Richmond

Director

Keith Gordon

Music

Michael Convertino

Other

Henry Gibson

Producer

Keith Gordon, Robert B. Weide, Ruth Vitale, Mark Ordesky, Linda Reisman, Whyaduck, Fine Line Features