Can Hitler Happen Here

The trouble for Miriam Kohen—a wealthy, elderly recluse who doesn’t venture past the front door of her Upper East Side mansion—starts with her neighbor Cynthia, a well-heeled matron fretting over the upkeep of her impeccable house that abuts Miriam’s crumbling one. Miriam’s son, Josh, living in L.A., is also worried about the state of what Miriam calls her “landfill,” an Upper East Side townhouse strewn with empty vodka bottles, take-out containers, papers, art supplies, and her beloved paintings.

Not long after she accepts Cynthia’s offer of help, a succession of characters begin knocking on her door. There are real estate investors who want to buy her house, and city social workers inquiring about her welfare. Even the police barge in. Her once isolated existence is constantly being interrupted.

A study of the fascinating fine line between madness and genius, Can Hitler Happen Here? allows the viewer a glimpse into the mind of a reclusive artist whose home has become both sanctuary and second skin. Scenes of chaos, both inner and outer, offer a visceral sense of what it feels like for creative personalities whose shifting consciousness is paradoxically both their greatest asset and biggest handicap. When meddling neighbors begin to take umbrage at Miriam's refusal to conform to social norms, an intricate battle of wits and wills ensues.