After reading Hannah Arendt’s Thinking Without a Banister, I thought I’d watch Hannah Arendt (2013), a DVD I’ve had on my shelves for years. Barbara Sukowa plays the intense, chain-smoking philosopher during the tumultuous period of Arendt’s life when she accepted the invitation of editor William Shawn (Nicholas Woodeson) of The New Yorker to cover the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann. Director Margarethe vin Trotta weaves actual archival footage from the famous trial into the story. Arendt’s articles in The New Yorker created a firestorm of controversy in the Jewish community. Her analysis of “the banality of evil” enraged many who wanted Eichmann painted as devil not as a bureaucrat who was “just following orders.” Arendt’s suggestion that Jewish leaders working with Eichmann during the Holocaust were complicit in the results unleashed consternation in Israel and the U.S. When the articles were published in book form, Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963), the book and its author became sensations.
While watching Hannah Arendt, I especially liked Janet McTeer as Mary McCarthy who encourages Arendt during this stormy episode when she’s being attacked on all sides. Barbara Sukowa creates a fiercely ethical woman who reports what she believes to be the truth and stands up to the Establishment while being lobbied by “friends” who want a specific political outcome. You can’t watch Hannah Arendt without admiring her integrity and courage during troubled times. GRADE: A-
Just added it to my Netflix queue. Very long wait. My top 11 picks on Netflix are all long waits. Aargh.
Steve, HANNAH ARENDT is worth the wait.
We’re currently watching Sukowa on the last season of 12 MONKEYS, running on Syfy. I will have to check the movie out. I can see her as Arendt.
Jeff, Barbara Sukowa completely convinced me she was Hannah Arendt. Great performance!
THANKS for the tip!
Dan, I was just a kid when THE NEW YORKER controversy erupted. I didn’t quite grasp the arguments, but I certainly realized EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM was a Hot Topic!
Sounds interesting. I have only the most vague of memories of these events, or perhaps it was my hearing about them later, I’m not sure. I sure wasn’t reading the New Yorker at that time, though within a few years I read it every week.
Rick, I’ve been a subscriber to THE NEW YORK on and off over the years. Back in the Sixties, THE NEW YORKER published plenty of great journalism from IN COLD BLOOD to EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM.