Rent Hannah Arendt (2012)

Interesting Subject - Hannah Arendt review by VC

I had to give this film 5 stars, although it probably doesn’t deserve it! I was riveted, trying to take in Hannah’s depth of thought, and for me that made it special and very rare in these days of shallow cinematic wonders.

I had problems trying to catch some of the more interesting or profound statements as they went past me too fast, and I had to rewind to catch them. I also found the jumping from one language to another, and from subtitles to no subtitles, unnecessary and disturbing to my concentration.

It must be said that the film is more like a trailer, tantalising you and inviting you to explore further, (and I did go onto Amazon to search for her books afterwards!) rather than a thorough exploration of Hannah’s character and thought. So many things should have been explored and not glossed over, like her love affair with her tutor Martin Heidegger for example. Did the film maker take on a subject that was beyond him I wonder? I find it curious that the film is called “Hannah Arendt” but in no way is this a biopic. It concentrates on her reporting of the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem, but you don’t really get an in depth look at the trial, her thoughts about it, or her clash with the Jewish community when she published “Eichmann in Jerusalem”. You don’t get to understand what made her tick, or how she became the great thinker that she was. You are left with a vague impression of someone who was a deep and fearless thinker, someone who most people misunderstood, and someone who had sorrows buried somewhere beyond our ken. Yet, the film held my attention the whole time, and as I said, made me want to explore her life and thought further.

A slow starter - Hannah Arendt review by Brummie

At first I struggled to enjoy the film, I have to admit. For me the best bit of the film was towards the end when Hannah gives her lecture and explains about the banality of evil. I rewatched that part several times to really understand her thinking. I enjoyed Barbara Sukowa’s portrayal of Hannah, as she really captured the “ballsy” way this woman reacted to her critics. Very thought provoking and like the previous reviewer, I will read more about this woman.

Watchable tale of ideas but fails to do Arendt full justice - Hannah Arendt review by PD

It's always very difficult to transfer a tale of ideas onto screen, and this one for me doesn't quite succeed in bringing it off - occasionally the dialogue gets to grips with the ethical complexities Arendt confronts us with, but far too often the screenplay simply isn't up to the job, with the result that rather too much of the 'action' feels somewhat stilted. There's some great moments - original footage of Eichmann's trial at the beginning for example is disturbingly compelling - maybe he does 'look like a nobody', but then, what do we expect? A devil with horns? And Barbara Sukowa's performance, particularly in the scenes where she is complemented by Janet McTeeer's Mary McCarthy, is a convincing one. Unfortunately however, Arendt's detractors come across mainly as puppets mouthing a party line, with the result that there isn't really any serious, forensic challenge to Arendt's thought, and the pantomime villain quality of her opponents merely makes the drama less powerful than it should be; an attempt to shoehorn Arendt's affair with Heidegger, moreover, is just a distraction from the film's main concern - the depiction of someone committed to what she considers the truth. So, all in all a worthy subject but not one that does Arendt full justice.