Drama | 1h 52m
Hanna Kaufman is an American-Jewish immigrant in Israel, the child of Holocaust survivors. Petulant, headstrong, intelligent, she is a court-appointed lawyer assigned to defend a Palestinian – Salim Bakri – accused of terrorism and infiltration, whose plea is based on the claim the he is trying to regain possession of his family house.
Upon it’s release in 1983, Edward Said provided a telling review of the film in The Village Voice, writing: “Salim Bakri, the Palestinian in the film, is a Palestinian so forcefully as to lift the level of the film from that of a dispiriting and finally trivial love story to that of a political argument. Like Melville's Bartelby, he seems to be saying, "deal with me if you can, but I most certainly would prefer not to go away." No, Salim is not all Palestinians, he is not a militant, he is not the forces of history. He is one Palestinian whose basic drive concerns his house, his life, his destiny. That Costa-Gavras has built a film around these concerns is, in the current aesthetic and socio-political setting, an act of profoundly courageous human and political solidarity. For Hanna K. to accomplish its real mission, however, it must open further discussion and debate. But alas, that may not be allow moviegoers who may not get a chance to see the film if, for political reasons, it is either closed quickly or nor widely shown.”
Director: Costa-Govras
Writers: Franco Solinas, Costa-Gavras
Cinematographer: Ricardo Aronovich
Editor: Françoise Bonnot
First Assistant Director: Claire Denis
Starring: Jill Clayburgh, Mohammad Bakri, Gabriel Byrne
