Sharjah Art Foundation

Sharjah Biennial 16

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
6 Febuary — 15 June 2025

The Great Dictator, 1940

Charlie Chaplin
The Great Dictator, 1940
Black and white, English (Arabic subtitles)
2h 6min
Film still

Synopsis

During the last months of World War I, a barber known as the ‘Jewish barber’ tries to rescue Commander Schultz, who claims he is carrying important dispatches that could win the war. In his effort to save Schultz from a plane crash, the barber sustains a concussion that causes the barber to suffer severe amnesia. Years later, after much time in hospital because of his amnesia, the barber returns to a home ruled by dictator Adenoid Hynkel, an anti-Semitic fascist who believes in a pure Aryan state and the annihilation of the Jewish people. Delivering both drama and humour, the great Charlie Chaplin plays both the Jewish barber, who rebels in the name of humanity, and the great dictator of Tomainia, who wants to dominate and control the world.