The Devil's Arithmetic (film)
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''The Devil's Arithmetic'' is a 1999
historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...
based on the novel of the same name by
Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...
. It stars
Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awar ...
as Hannah Stern and costars
Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer, known for her work in both comedy and drama. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue a career in a ...
,
Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her numero ...
, and
Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), '' Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the g ...
.
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...
introduces the film but is uncredited and serves as an executive producer with
Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), '' Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the g ...
.


Plot

The film opens with Hannah, a teen girl, in a tattoo parlor with her friends, contemplating what tattoo she wants. Before she can decide, she notes the time and realizes she is late for a Passover dinner. Hannah hates going to her family seder as her family tells the same stories and Hannah is tired of hearing about the past. Her aunt tells her every year that Hannah looks like her namesake, Chana, but won't tell Hannah who Chana was or what she did. During the seder Hannah opens the front door to let in the prophet Elijah, but she sees a Polish village instead of the outside of the apartment. All of a sudden she is not only in a new place but also in the year 1941. Hannah learns she is in the home of Rivka, who says she is Hannah (now Chana)'s cousin, and her aunt Gitl. They tell Hannah she has been sick with cholera and that should explain her strange ramblings about the future. The next day, the family goes into the village for a wedding, which is interrupted by Nazi soldiers, who say the whole village will be resettled. Burning their temple as they leave. After a long journey, they arrive at a
Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
. There, their valuables are stolen, their heads are shorn, they are tattooed, and they are made prisoners. Life is brutal, but Hannah tells fairy tales and stories to the women in her bunk to keep their spirits up, and she insists that she knows what is coming because of her history classes in school, but no one believes her. Tensions rise when a family is revealed to have typhus and when a woman goes into labor, some of the men attempt an escape when they find a guard they think they can trust, only to be caught and executed via hanging. One day, the commandant notices that Rivka and other inmates are ill, so he orders them to go to the gas chamber. Before he can see, Hannah switches places with Rivka. As she enters the gas chamber, she is transported back to the present day, awakening surrounded by her family, who tell her she had too much to drink (and presumably passed out). She embraces her aunt Eva and calls her Rivka, to her astonishment. They speak privately and Hannah fills in details she did not previously know. The movie ends with the entire family singing traditional songs at the table – the teenage Hannah is no longer alienated but is now part of the family.


Production

The film was shot in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
in fall 1998 and a concentration camp set was built before shooting began and was designed to resemble
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
.


Cast

*
Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awar ...
as Hannah Stern/Chana Abramowicz *
Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer, known for her work in both comedy and drama. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue a career in a ...
as Rivka * Paul Freeman as Rabbi *
Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), '' Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the g ...
as Leonore Stern *
Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her numero ...
as Aunt Eva *
Daniel Brocklebank Daniel Brocklebank (born 21 December 1979) is an English actor, best known for portraying the roles of Ivan Jones in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2005–2006), and Billy Mayhew in ITV's other long-running soap ''Coronation Street'' (20 ...
as Shmuel * Shelly Skandrani as Leah * Philip Rham as Commandant Krieger * Daniel Rausch as Sgt. Steinbach * Kristy McFarland as Yetta * Nitzan Sharron as Ariel * Rachel Roddy as Esther * Ives Jackevičiūtė as Miriam * Vaidotas Martinaitis as Hans * Nijolė Narmontaitė as Hedwig * Leonardas Pobedonoscevas as Isaac *
Louis Negin Louis Negin (20 October 1929 – 2 December 2022) was a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his roles in the films of Guy Maddin."Enchantment". ''In Toronto'', September 2011. Career Born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, Onta ...
as Uncle Morris *
Caterina Scorsone Caterina Scorsone is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as neurosurgeon Dr. Amelia Shepherd on the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2010–present) and its spin-offs '' Private Practice'' (2010–2013) and ''Station 19'' (2020– ...
as Jessica


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Arithmetic American drama films Showtime (TV network) films 1999 films 1999 drama films 1999 science fiction films 1999 television films Films based on American novels Holocaust films 1990s American films 1990s films about time travel 1990s historical fantasy films Films set in 1941 Films shot in Lithuania Films based on works by Jane Yolen Films directed by Donna Deitch Films scored by Frédéric Talgorn 1990s English-language films