Director Leon Prudovsky’s My Neighbor Adolf sets a story with Holocaust roots in Colombia in1960. Early on, we meet Polsky (David Hayman), a Jewish recluse who lost his family during the Holocaust. Polsky lives a solitary life outside a small Colombian town, but his bitter existence is disrupted when a new neighbor (Udo Kier's Herr Herozg) moves next door. Herzog’s arrival brings a major dose of seriousness to a movie that often sketches its moves lightly. Annoyed by his neighbor's dog, Polksy fumes. To make matters worse, Herzog's beloved German Shepherd threatens the dark roses Polsky nurtures. A brief meeting between the two men convinces Polksy that Herzog might be none other than Adolf Hitler. Despite widely acknowledged reports of his death, the Nazi Fuhrer might be hiding in Latin America. Polsky, who claims to have seen Hitler in person at a Berlin chess match, goes to great lengths to validate his suspicions. For his part, Prodovsky creates an air of mystery around Herzog. Olivia Silhavy portrays Frau Kaltenbrunner, an authoritarian woman Polsky regards as Herzog's protector, a woman who might be helping to conceal Herzog's murderous past. The two men begin playing tense games of chess as part of Polsky's plan to expose his neighbor. My Neighbor Adolf works hard to squeeze sentiment into its story about two lonely old men, eventually revealing the truth about Herzog's past. Both actors do their best to keep the story on track, but a Grumpy Old Men quality seems misplaced, and the screenplay becomes increasingly implausible.
