Summer-Dream-Prelude to Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt (2012), is a biographical feature film by Margarete von Trotta about the philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906-1975).

The film is set between 1960 and 1964 and revolves around the so-called Eichmann trial, which was made possible after the Mossad tracked down Adolf Eichmann, who had gone into hiding in Argentina, and abducted him to Israel in May 1960. Hannah Arendt suggests to The New Yorker magazine that it should report on the trial in Jerusalem. Editor William Shawn is thrilled by the offer from the thinker, who is highly regarded for her political and historical analyses.

The dialogues that Hannah Arendt has with her husband Heinrich Blücher, her friend Mary McCarthy, her friend Hans Jonas, her secretary Lotte Köhler and her students inform the viewer about her political-philosophical reflections.

In the course of the trial, Adolf Eichmann turns out not to be a bestial monster, but a mediocre bureaucrat, which surprises Hannah Arendt.

After two years of intensive work, extensive research and many discussions, Hannah Arendt finally writes the series of articles that everyone has been eagerly awaiting, which immediately provokes an unexpected scandal in the United States, Israel and the world.

Many of her friends also criticized her harshly. Above all, Hannah Arendt was accused of accusing the Jewish councils of having cooperated with the German authorities, her thesis of the "banality of evil" and a lack of love for Jews.

Hannah Arendt, however, remained consistent in her stance and did not shy away from controversy. The lecture halls are packed at her lectures, the students listen enthusiastically to her analyses and fearless conclusions. Of her friends, only her husband Heinrich Blücher, Mary McCarthy and Lotte Köhler remained loyal to her.

The leading roles are played by Barbara Sukowa as Hannah Arendt, Axel Milberg as Heinrich Blücher and Klaus Pohl as Martin Heidegger.