Hanussen (Profeta)

After the First World War, Erik Jan Hanussen rises to become a celebrated clairvoyant and variety show star. With his spectacular predictions, he captivates audiences and takes the salons of Berlin’s elite by storm. Nothing appears to be beyond his reach when he predicts Hitler's ascent to power. Yet, in the shadow of the looming Nazi regime, his gift becomes a dangerous weapon. When Hanussen also predicts the Reichstag fire, he finds himself in the crosshairs of the very rulers whose favour he had previously sought. With the Oscar-nominated Hungarian-German-Austrian co-production HANUSSEN, István Szabó brings to a close his exploration of power, opportunism, and moral entanglement, which began with MEPHISTO and COLONEL REDL. The exceptionally talented Klaus Maria Brandauer embodies a dazzling figure straddling the line between illusion and reality, seduction and self-deception. Szabó unfolds an evocatively staged drama about a man who seems to read the signs of his time, yet underestimates the danger he conjures up. An outstanding film about the seductive power of authority and the fateful price of making a pact with it.