Germany's tormented 20th century history is rich in dramatic and terrible themes, and in her latest film, a biopic of the German Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt, the producer Margarete von Trotta deals head-on with the profound and difficult moral issues raised by Arendt in her report on the Eichmann trial at the beginning of the 1960s.

The film represents a daring attempt to illustrate the evolution of a philosopher's ideas - ideas which at the time provoked an enormous controversy over anti-fascism and the understanding of Nazism's nature.