X

2009
Not Rated
Balcony Releasing
1 h 26 m

2009
Not Rated
Balcony Releasing
1 h 26 m

Summary Blessed Is the Match is the first documentary feature about Hannah Senesh, the World War II-era poet and diarist who became a paratrooper, resistance fighter and modern-day Joan of Arc. Safe in Palestine in 1944, she joined a mission to rescue Jews in her native Hungary. With unprecedented access to the Senesh family archive, this powerf...

Written By: Sophie Sartain

2009
Not Rated
Balcony Releasing
1 h 26 m

2009
Not Rated
Balcony Releasing
1 h 26 m

Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

49

User Score Available after 4 ratings

tbd

My Score

Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Blessed Is the Match is the first documentary feature about Hannah Senesh, the World War II-era poet and diarist who became a paratrooper, resistance fighter and modern-day Joan of Arc. Safe in Palestine in 1944, she joined a mission to rescue Jews in her native Hungary. With unprecedented access to the Senesh family archive, this powerf...

Written By: Sophie Sartain

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Peter Hay

Self - Senesh Biographer

Judy Baumel-Schwartz

Self - Bar-Ilan University

Michael Berenbaum

Self - Holocaust Scholar

Shimon Peres

Self - President of Israel

Martin Gilbert

Self - Historian

Márta Ozoray

Self - Hannah's Classmate

Magda Csécsy

Self - Hannah's Classmate

Dina Schechman

Self - Kibbutz Sdot-Yam

Eitan Senesh

Self - Hannah's Nephew, Giora Senesh's Son

David Senesh

Self - Hannah's Nephew, Giora Senesh's Son

Aharon Megged

Self - Author & Kibbitz Sdot-Yam Member

Surika Braverman

Self - Parachutist

Laszlo Ritter

Self - Institute of History, H.A.S.

Reuven Dafni

Self - Parachutist, Final Interview, 2005

Judith Charody

Self - Catherine's Cellmate

Éva Ritscher

Self - Catherine's Cellmate

Susan Beer

Self - Gestapo Prisoner

Joan Allen

Catherine Senesh

Alona Tal

Hannah Senesh

Meri Roth

Hannah Senesh

View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

0% Positive
0 Reviews

100% Mixed
7 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

0% Positive
0 Reviews

100% Mixed
7 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

New York Daily News

A limited amount of original footage -- awkwardly enhanced with reenactments -- gives the film a somewhat narrow focus. But in a way, the dry tone fits.

By Elizabeth Weitzman FULL REVIEW

Senesh was a budding writer, and her poems and diary entries add flavor to an already dramatic tale in Roberta Grossman's Blessed Is the Match.

By Dennis Harvey FULL REVIEW

Los Angeles Times

Because Senesh died so young, it's hard to fill out a film of nearly 90 minutes that claims her as the subject, so director Grossman has resorted to using newsreel footage as well as re-creations, which, though discreet, add nothing special to the proceedings.

By Kenneth Turan FULL REVIEW

The title is drawn from a verse Hannah wrote just before she was captured -- and that impulse is enough to sustain audience interest.

By Bob Mondello FULL REVIEW

Tells us just about everything we might want to know about her - except why she did what she did. That important information will have to wait for another film.

The New York Times

Documents courage, but steers clear of character.

By Jeannette Catsoulis FULL REVIEW

An ungainly hybrid of straight-up documentary and ingenuous reenactment.

User Reviews

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

Production Company The Katahdin Foundation

Release Date Jan 28, 2009

Duration 1 h 26 m

Rating Not Rated

Genres

View All Details

Awards

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

Universal Acclaim

Collective

Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

Universal Acclaim

Our Body

Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

Universal Acclaim

Crumb

Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

Universal Acclaim

Related News

The 15 Worst Movies Based on TV Shows

The 15 Worst Movies Based on TV Shows

Jason Dietz

Hollywood continually attempts to bring TV shows to the big screen--and it often turns out poorly. We look at the 15 absolute worst TV-to-film adaptations so far.

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find a schedule of release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

May 2024 Movie Preview

May 2024 Movie Preview

Keith Kimbell

Get a look at the most notable movies debuting in May, including a Mad Max prequel, a Planet of the Apes sequel, and a promising Ryan Gosling-led action-comedy.

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore.