Al Rodbell
There are momentous events that shape our world, with individuals, Hitler, Napoleon, Marx -- who take the stuff of their birth world and shape it into something different. Those who capture forces and marshal them for revolutions, are both hated and loved, saviors and monsters -- and the winners write the history.True Philosophers transcend this. They remove themselves from those who hate and admire such transforming figures, and by doing so risk becoming alienated from their own group. Thus is the case of Hannah Arendt in the period of this film. As a student she had a love affair with Heidegger, one of the great philosophers of the early 20th century - who as a human being joined the Nazis.Arendt, being a Jew, in a covering the trial of Adolf Eichman, became the thinker, the philosopher, while those survivors of the Holocaust were in pain over their loss, and in no mood to intellectualize the perpetrators.Although I lived only miles from Arendt at the time of this film, I was far removed from the academic culture described, and now more than a half century later, look back with a top of nostalgia and remorse. I knew some who survived the death camps, and certainly could identify with those who reviled Arendt for not loathing Eichman.Yet these are the challenges of today. We have child terrorists such as one who just killed nine people in a black church our of the same inculcated hatred as the Nazis towards Jews. Arendt's thinking is valuable, and needed since the disease of hatred of outsiders does not seem to be fading, but rather is a constant recurrence of humanity.
zif ofoz
Margarethe von Trotta's movie certainly has some 'acting issues'. Many of the performances are stiff and wooden and just lacking in enthusiasm. But Barbara Sukowa shines so brightly as Hannah that she lifts all others to an acceptable level.I consider it a privilege to have seen this movie because the story of this event, not just in Arendt's life, but in western history needs to be told. Arendt's philosophical interpretation of the Eichmann trial carries a lot of weight in the 'understanding' of the human condition. As horrible a person as Eichmann was, he was still human, and thanks to Arendt we can see where unquestioning obedience to authority will always produce a nightmare result.It's the story that will keep an interested person viewing this wonderful movie even with it's glaring weak points. It's all worth it to see and hear the impassioned speech Arendt gives near the end of the movie.
anna_vx
This is a must-see movie for all philosophers and moral-issues lovers. Even if you are not that prone for this sort of debate, be aware that this movie is the kind that makes you think. --- (spoilers from now on) ---(+) plus side: While Hannah is shown as a strong-willed person, and very intelligent, she is also shown as a very closed person, who may have, despite of her "cold" blood, a greater sensibility to the "nazi" choice due to the fact that her former boyfriend, Heidegger, has made an option for the "nazi" political wing, after their relationship had been consumed. Of course, she does not approve the Nazism, but somehow she has managed to see Eichmann's trial from a different perspective, a more human one, ironically and unexpectedly, totally innovative. (-) negative side & a matter of interpretation: I think the movie lacked a little the discussion between passion and reason, which is suggested in Hannah's academic path. I mean, her approach to Eichmann's trial is different because she is a genius, but also because, somehow, she analyzes his figure, his arguments, and she manages to see, in him, some sort of human trait, paradoxically, considering her main conclusion is that he was unable to think. Maybe these extremes (reason x passion) could have been more explored, and then it would be a more philosophical-biased movie, still, it would have been nice.Great movie. Go on and watch it.
albertopsg
Hanna Arendt is a biopic of the homonymous German philosopher focusing on her coverage of the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem and the outrage that her articles on it ensued.As a historical document, the movie is gripping and mostly clear (though some lines of the discussions of her with her friends are a bit unclear) to laymen. I, for one, had never heard of Arendt and the 'banality of evil' before, but I believe that now I'd be able to talk about her thoughts with making a fool out of myself. For that, I thank the film.Though, on a movie-making viewpoint, it is a letdown. The flow of the film is pretty odd, with leaps in time and space (eg. suddenly she is in Israel), and the efforts to use transition scenes are pretty untimely. The dialogs aren't the best either, with strange remarks here and there, and philosophic remarks not everyone could grasp.Hannah Arendt is much more of a history and philosophy class, than a great movie. Though, it deserves a bit of appreciation for successfully exposing a great woman's thoughts to a new generation.
AD
