Margarethe von Trotta's fascinating biography of the influential philosopher and political theorist, whose reporting on the 1961 trial of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann led to her famous concept of the "banality of evil".
German director Margarethe von Trotta’s impressive oeuvre attests to her fascination with great women in world history. Acclaimed philosopher and theoretician Hannah Arendt's life was hardly lacking in drama – a harrowing escape from Nazi Germany, friendships and affairs with giants of the intellectual world, and involvement in some of the great political controversies of the day. Her renown rested less on actions than on her influential body of thought. Attempting to transform "thought into film", the work chronicles Arendt’s journey to Jerusalem to report on the post-war trial of a Nazi colonel, Adolf Eichmann, for The New Yorker. The lead role is played by the director’s longstanding collaborator, Barbara Sukowa.
Margarethe von Trotta
Born in Berlin in 1942. In the 1960s she moved to Paris where she became initiated into the world of cinema. She also pursued an acclaimed acting career, starring in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Volker Schlöndorff, with whom she was also married for 20 years. In 1977, von Trotta directed her first feature film and became one of New German Cinema's most prominent female filmmakers.
filmography (selection)
1975 Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum (The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum)
1978 Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages (The Second Awakening of Christa Klages)
1979 Schwestern oder Die Balance des Glücks (Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness)
1981 Die bleierne Zeit (Marianne and Julianei)
1986 Rosa Luxemburg
2003 Rosenstrasse
2009 Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Vision)
2012 Hannah Arendt