I thought it was appalling that Michael would be so selfish and thus equally guilty as those lying Nazi guards who used
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — General Discussion
dakowill11 — 9 years ago(May 05, 2016 11:03 PM)
I thought it was appalling that Michael would be so selfish and thus equally guilty as those lying Nazi guards who used Hanna as a scapegoat for their own crimes. I guess the comments of Michael's teacher are central to the plot i.e. "The notion of secrecy is central to Western literature. You may say the whole idea of character in fiction is defined by people holding specific information which for various reasonssometimes perverse, sometimes noblethey are determined not to disclose."
But, I agree with Michael's professor, Rohl, who asserted, "It's perfectly clear you have a moral obligation to disclose it to the court." So I don't understand why he didn't and instead could allow Hanna to waste away in prison for over two decades with a clear conscience. I mean, how could you sleep at night?! Worse still such could have been avoided I think if the prosecution and/or judges demanded a sample of all the defendants handwriting to narrow down who was in charge and the true author of the report. -
seannyboyhhs — 9 years ago(July 31, 2016 12:08 AM)
a lot has been said of why he didn't say anything - shame, shock, etc. but. i think his real cruelty lies in letting her rot and fade away in prison. all alone. yes, ok, he did a massive job of recording all those tapes for her, but she? she learned to read and write! i mean, that's gotta(!) melt your heart, no? knowing how deep that illiteracy issue goes for her (that she was willing to go to prison for life just to not be ashamed in front of everyone). but he never responded. and he never visited until it was too late. (and when he did, he was dead coldall the while thinking he's doing a great thing by setting her up in the world and he's *done a great job with tapes - yay me Michael! totally not seeing how she needs him, how she missed him and basically asks for forgiveness with all her looks). though she specifically asked to write back at least something. to me, that's not love. not even close. and the reason he sent those tapes was probably just to deal with his own nostalgia for the time with her. or maybe he was even more simplistic than she was. he had to know that would he have visited regularly, she wouldn't fade. and maybe one day would get out and be with him - not like he had a life away from her anyway, all his *thoughts were of her. daily. all the time. yet he passed on the chance to be with her. even if through a barrier.
i think it's irrelevant that he kept quiet in the court. just not fair that she's the only one who's gotten the life sentence. when she clearly wasn't the guilty one. she just didn't know better - simply obeyed orders. and did so well. other guards, on the other hand, obviously didn't feel at all guilty when trying so desperately and heartlessly to push all the blame onto her, the simplistic lady. *that was cruel. and i'm sure they felt just the same during the fire - if Hanna was afraid of chaos, other guards probably thought "let those jews burn". and even then they used her simple obeying mind.
bottom line for me - he could have drastically changed her life for the better not so much by making her sentence 4 years or whatever, but by treating her with love while she was already in jail. that would've started a chain reaction of her being happy (since not alone, not abandoned, and forgiven and loved by probably only, or one of few, men in her life who actually cared..and whom *she left), doing better (whatever activities they're doing there because she has something to look forward to on the outside actually - i'm sure it means the world for those locked up), people seeing she actually has someone on the outside who cares for her (which means she can start over and not a hopeless case), and thus most likely getting a much shorter sentence - 10, 15 years maybe? which would be a pretty great deal, since both of them didn't have anyone else in their life anyway (as in whom they could genuinely love and be love back). reminds me of the Bible where it said something like "rather be hot or cold, but not lukewarm". that's what he was to her. and dead cruel. gave her hope, yet killed it altogether when showed up and acted like a distant relative or something, while she lit up only like women who love light up. so to me, that's nonsense that someone might think she hanged herself cause she thought she deserved punishment. she did so because there was no future. and had he not sent tapes, she would've done so much much sooner, i think. -
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Melton1 — 3 months ago(December 08, 2025 07:20 AM)
Insane take.
You seem to be forgetting that she was a Nazi war criminal responsible for hundreds of deaths. I wonder if you’d extend the same level of suicidal empathy to a male Nazi guard?
In addition, Hanna is more uncomfortable having the reputation of being illiterate than she is being a renowned Nazi war criminal. She’s not bothered by the latter and shows no remorse for her evil deeds. She is ****ing mental.
This film must be trolling the audience. I’ll see if I can get gullible people to sympathise with a psychotic bitch who gets Jewish girls to read stories to her before sending them off to be executed. All those atrocities can be forgiven because ‘poor me I can’t read’
Also, she’s grooming and humping a 16 year old schoolboy. Pretty gross. Would you extend the same sympathies to an adult male ****ing a schoolgirl..? -
Afrikoka — 9 years ago(September 29, 2016 09:23 PM)
No sympathy for Hannah. Or no I had sympathy for her but I don't feel bad for her.
I feel like people already answered and I agree with some more than others, don't feel like rehashing. But I'm surprised with the lack of acknowledgement that the dude is more in a post-trauma situation than deeply in love..