The Devil's Arithmetic (1999)

Very Cool!!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

First of all, remember this is a low-budget made-for-TV show that crams way too much stuff into too little time, suitable for viewing for just about any audience, dealing with the most difficult and harrowing subject matter of the past 100 years through the eyes of a shallow self-centered post-Reagan brat by some cosmic wrinkle in order to set her straight. When you consider all that it's not all that bad and probably a fairly good way to introduce younger children to the subject matter without giving them the nightmares like Schindler's List might do. The weakest performance is that of Kristin Dunst who at times (perhaps more often than not) seems like she's on prozac, and if you can get over that and the simplistic stereotypes then give it a shot. I only wish they had cast someone for the main character who tried harder to connect with her character when she experienced devastating things like being ripped away from her family by time instead of seeming mildly put out - but then part of that was also bad writing due partly I'm sure to time and budget constraints.

If you are able to accept this simply as a good, well acted movie, that's great. Unfortunately for me, I am not able to accept a departure from logic which spoiled this movie for me.Hannah is transported to 1941 Poland. We must assume she does not speak Polish, nor do her relatives speak English. Logically, it would pose a very difficult communication problem. As well, Hannah's humble acceptance of her new surroundings was hardly credible.Do your research. Concentration camps were never as small as the one depicted in this movie. Yes, prisoners were immediately assigned work details which in this case showed them hacking at the earth with pick axes in a muddied, water sodden area. For what purpose? Even within their warped philosophy, the SS had a purpose for everything.If you accept this movie as mythology where everything and nothing makes sense, you will likely enjoy it.

I thought that the book was better then the movie. If the movie was more like that book i think that it would have been better. The movie had left out some details from the book that i think were pretty important. For example in the movie Rivka was Hannah's cousin and in the book Rivka was just a girl that Hannah had meet in the camp. Another thing is that in the book there was a few chapters on how they were stuck on the train for 4 days with out anything to drink or eat and in the movie the left out that whole part. That's why i think that the book was a lot better then the movie. I think that if they had made the movie just like the book it would have been a lot better.

While obviously this isn't a perfect education of the horrors of the Holocaust, it's not meant to be. This movie was based on a Young Adults' book, and it's transformed into a Young Adults' movie. It's not supposed to be a perfectly accurate portrayal, and it's not meant for historians or anything. But it is a touching film and excellent education for people to understand what it was like then. There are many powerful moments in the movie. A particularly impressive part, to me, was when Kirsten Dunst's character points to the number branded on her arm, and cries, "I wanted one of these!" referring to a tattoo. I think the highlight, however, was Brittany Murphy's incredible part. She was virtually unrecognizable, and her acting was superb. She literally threw herself into the part, and she shines. She truly is one of the greatest things about this movie.