Musik des Zufalls (1993)

Musik des Zufalls: Directed by Philip Haas. With James Spader, Mandy Patinkin, M. Emmet Walsh, Charles Durning. A thrill seeker agrees to help a shady professional gambler win a high stakes poker game. However, they lose and become captives of two eccentric rich men who decide to forcibly keep them on their remote gated ranch as indentured servants.

“I rented this movie about five years ago not knowing what to expect. I saw a few raves on the back of the box, and even though the cast looked a bit uneven, I took a chance. I was totally mesmerized. I enjoyed it so much I watched the whole thing all over again the next evening. Itu0026#39;s a totally captivating story with wonderful cinematography, a beautiful soundtrack, and itu0026#39;s all held together by the fact that you have no idea what is going to happen next. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story — based on the novel by Paul Auster — is certainly an original one. Mandy Patinkin plays a fireman named Nash who is taking an extended roadtrip/vacation and picks up the James Spader character (Pozzi) on the side of the road, bruised and bloody. Apparently Pozzi, who is normally a card player with a golden touch, lost his shirt to a pair of eccentric millionaires. Nash agrees to front Pozzi the money to get back in a game with the old guys in an attempt to win back his money. Well, one thing leads to another and Nash and Pozzi lose their shirts in the rematch. The payoff scheme conceived by the millionaires eventually drives Nash and Pozzi to the brink of insanity. Without giving away too much more of the plot, letu0026#39;s just say it involves the building of a wall and weu0026#39;ll leave it at that. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll the performances are memorable. Itu0026#39;s a small cast, but each actor (Patinkin, Spader, Charles Durning, Joel Grey, M. Emmet Walsh, Christopher Penn and Samantha Mathis) does wonderfully. Patinkin is marvelous as a quiet, sensible man who slowly goes mad. Spader is totally over the top and manages to deliver whatu0026#39;s probably his finest performance to date. Durning is terrific, as is the always-dependable character actor Walsh.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA few months after seeing the movie for the first time, I read the book and was pleasantly surprised at how faithful the book was in recreating the story. If you are a fan of this book or any other of Austeru0026#39;s works, this is definitely worth checking out.”