The Believer: Film Analysis

In the film “The Believer”, there are multiple contradictions between the central tenets of Judaism that proposes that the protagonist Daniel Balint challenges those beliefs. Problem is in doing so he stays true to several tenets of such religion. In order to further asses the relationship between the film and doctrines stablished in Judaism we must take a look in to how modernity affected such doctrines. Thru out the course of history Judaism evolved and change, some Jewish people today don’t even identify themselves as religious. The mere definition of religion is the belief is something bigger than on self, a higher entity that sets all rules. This previous stamen contradicts the Jewish tenets, for example the belief in the divine origin of the Torah. But that disparity in itself shows what the author refers to as the “great diversity among the Jewish people” (Esposito, 2002, p. 79), people from the …show more content…
This cannot be achieved by oppression of other, groups because it acts in complete disconnection with the true meaning of socialism. By the end of the film the protagonist seems to come to the realization that what in the beginning he saw as conflicting deity, that did not align with his interpretation of God was actually almost identical to his personal view of the world. Daniel claims to be anti-samite when in reality he is more aligning with their values and beliefs than any other group. In the film there is an expression that presents itself as both a challenge and a continuation of Judaism, “maybe we are all Jew’s, it doesn’t matter” (Bean, "The believer"). That expression is relevant throughout this essay, many of Daniel’s doctrines challenge Judaism and in doing so they also present continuation to such. The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter. There will almost always be a common ground for different doctrines that should in the very least allow us to