Hanna's War

1944. When Hanna (Detmers) abandons the rough comforts of her kibbutz to help kilted Andrews chase the Nazis out of the Balkans, nothing goes as it should. They are astonished to discover cattle trucks full of Jews, and even more surprised to learn that the ferryman paid to smuggle them into Hungary is a German spy. Hanna consequently falls into the capable hands of torturer Pleasence, who persuades her to betray her mother, brave, moving Burstyn. But all's well that ends well. Mum is released, and Hanna finds the slick Hollywood martydom she seems to be after. Written, produced and directed by Golan, the film's supposed to be a serious piece, refuting the anti-Semitic slur that the Jews were a load of namby-pamby defeatists when, in fact, they fought the Nazis like everybody else. The bad script is based on a stale polemic, which produces an expensive and self-righteous piece of propaganda. Top-notch performances by Detmers and Pleasence do nothing to make it the slightest bit gripping.