An Encounter with Simone Weil

This film is about the filmmaker and her own personal issues. I felt mislead. It does not seem that she has much of an understanding about Weil, well a denial, she rejects and neglects a great part of her life; tosses it aside as such trifle. This film is more about the director/ narrator coming to terms with depression and suicidal tendencies which I guess can be seen by some as a worthwhile exploration but this was not the movie the title suggests. My biggest knock on this film comes early in it. The director bemoans the fact that she has to read a pile of books by and about Weil as if it is a chore. If I felt compelled enough to seemingly make a documentary about a person, I would have probably read all of these book numerous times and made substantial investigations into the thinking of the time, her peers, rivals, protégés and influences. She didn't want to read them, she isn't really interested. The notion made her sick. I believe the director is in love with the idea of Weil, what her professor at university told her about Weil but lacking in the interest and skills to fully explore the woman.

I do commend the interviews of a few elderly people associated with Weil and the places and times she came from. Unfortunately the questions asked were not substantial.