Educational Media Reviews Online

Margarethe Von Trotta’s biographical drama about Hannah Arendt focuses on the political theorist’s coverage of the Adolf Eichmann trial for The New Yorker and the ensuing controversy surrounding her portrayal of the actions of both the accused and certain Jewish leaders in Nazi Germany. By dramatizing these events, the movie successfully turns a difficult philosophical text into an easily digestible feature film. Scenes with Arendt discussing the trial with her salon of intellectual friends help propel both narrative and theoretical aspects of the story, setting the scene for the fallout that the controversy caused in Arendt’s social life.

Barbara Sukowa does a tremendous job playing such a weighty thinker, while also giving us many glimpses of her humanity. On the other hand, several actors who portray American figures, such as the New Yorker staff, come off as either wooden or caricatures—possibly because the European cast had overthought their adopted American accents. I additionally found the flashbacks to young Hannah’s affair with Martin Heidegger superfluous to the story of the film. Characters in the New York scenes make numerous references to Heidegger’s association with Nazism, so the supposed point of showing the doomed romance receives ample coverage; that these scenes interrupt the flow of narrative time gives them even more of a tacked on feeling.

Despite these minor criticisms, the overall film works as a pedagogical support for studies of Arendt’s philosophy. It is remarkable how the German filmmaker was able to squeeze this theoretical work into the model of a Hollywood feature. In fact, the famous phrase “banality of evil” makes its appearance exactly fifteen minutes before the film’s close, at the traditional turning point known as “Plot Point B”. I would definitely recommend that classes studying Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil or other Arendt works on totalitarianism consider using this dramatic work to supplement reading of the primary texts.

Awards

• Best Film, Valladolid International Film Festival
• Outstanding Feature Film, Silver Award, German Film Awards
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Gold Award, German Film Awards
• Best Actress, Bavarian Film Award