The Devil’s Arithmetic
(1999) can be classified superficially as a coming-of-age film, for Hanna,
the protagonist, starts out being immaturely contemptuous of her family’s
ethnic and religious heritage and current practice. She tries to skip the
Passover Seder at her grandparents’ house. That her aunt Eva had been a
prisoner at a Nazi death camp makes no difference to Hanna—that is, until she
is transported back as her aunt’s cousin (for whom Hanna was named) and
experiences the camp herself. Whether she is really transported back in
time (and if so, how?) or is merely dreaming is answered in the end but not so
blatantly as would insult the viewers’ intelligence. Then again, it’s not every
film that has allusions both to theology and The Wizard of
Oz. The different ways in which that movie is incorporated and alluded
to in this film are actually quite sophisticated in extending the viewers’
sense of synchronicity beyond the film’s narrative.
The full essay is at "The Devil's Arithmetic."
