Review of Hannah Arendt (2012) by Thomas W — 12 Feb 2014

This slow, meditative and reactionary drama is about real life German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) as she covered the 1961 trial of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann and wrote about it for The New Yorker magazine.

Her ability to disconnect herself and personal feelings from what she saw and heard while writing her account created a firestorm of controversy as she relayed her philosophical thoughts to the masses regarding Eichmann's persona and actions.

While people believed him to be an outright monster, Hannah wanted to dive deeper and find an excuse of why he was who he was which some people saw as her defending his reprehensible actions. She really was not .

.. people simply couldn't understand her words/writing which isn't surprising considering the public's horrid lack of reading comprehension. People want to see what the want to see and Hannah simply dared others that there might be either more or less there.

The cast is comprised of mostly unfamiliar faces with the exception being two time Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds, Albert Nobbs) as one of Hannah's New York socialite friends. The film is too slow for most audiences but I did find it an interesting watch.