Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (2009)

70% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(245 ratings)

Kyle Bring writes, directs, produces, and stars in this Christian-themed short film, which follows the parallel paths of a detective (Chris Dooley) and his criminal prey (Clayton Oberquell) as they find themselves surprisingly united by their quests to discover God's purpose in their lives. ~ Sandra… More Kyle Bring writes, directs, produces, and stars in this Christian-themed short film, which follows the parallel paths of a detective (Chris Dooley) and his criminal prey (Clayton Oberquell) as they find themselves surprisingly united by their quests to discover God's purpose in their lives. ~ Sandra Bencic, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 25 min.
Directed By: Roberta Grossman
Written By: Sophie Sartain
Genres: Documentary, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 28, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Apr 13, 2010
Studio: Balcony Releasing

Critic Reviews

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Intent on seeing Senesh as a symbol of hope and resistance, Blessed Is the Match is content to focus on the tragic legend that her life became.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Blessed Is the Match tells us just about everything we might want to know about her -- except why she did what she did.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
In a way, the dry tone fits.
Bob Mondello, NPR
Grossman has a robust story to tell, and she's found remarkable World War II footage to help her tell it.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Roberta Grossman's Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh documents courage, but steers clear of character.
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
(The film) goes beyond the symbol to find the flesh and blood woman who sacrificed her life for her beliefs and her people.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Roberta Grossman's film gracefully integrates tasteful re-enactments into a straight-up documentary approach, but, deliberately steers away from the more interesting questions of Senesh's character ...
Phil Hall, IdentityTheory
An excellent tribute to a young woman who has been, for too long, an unsung hero of World War II.
Daniel M. Kimmel, The Jewish Advocate
It is impossible not to be moved and inspired by this story, and saddened by a life cut short.
Jennifer Merin, About.com
Roberta Grossman's film is a moving portrait of the heroic Hannah, often referred to as a modern Joan of Arc, but whose story also reminds us of another beloved Holocaust diarist and victim, Anne Frank.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Roberta Grossman's film nicely emphasizes the Seneshes' familial bonds while painting a persuasive portrait of a vibrant yet socially isolated young woman.
Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters
The film makes clear in readings from Hannah Seneh's diaries and poems that her dedication to building a Jewish state has shaped her legacy.
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Roberta Grossman's film is an ungainly hybrid of straight-up documentary and ingenuous re-enactment.
Matthew Nestel, Boxoffice Magazine
Despite the technical lapses, the film's message is one that demands attention.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A captivating, inspirational, engrossing and profoundly illuminating experience.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A documentary that pays tribute to an idealistic young woman whose courage enabled her to sacrifice her life while trying to rescue Jews in her native Hungary during World War II.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
Meticulously researched actions of this idealistic young woman surmount the film's tone of an official eulogy, but it struggles throughout to bring her back to life size.
Maitland McDonagh, Time Out New York
Using archival footage, interviews and actors, writer Sophie Sartain and director Roberta Grossman celebrate Senesh's fierce courage without idealizing her.
Harvey S. Karten, Film Journal International
Never shows exactly how Senesh planned to rescue Jews.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Mark A

A compelling documentary that told the story of Hannah Senesh, a young, idealistic Jewish woman and poet who returns to Hungary from Israel in the final days of WWII, to help her people escape from Hitler's Final Solution. In many ways, her story was similar to many others.… More
A compelling documentary that told the story of Hannah Senesh, a young, idealistic Jewish woman and poet who returns to Hungary from Israel in the final days of WWII, to help her people escape from Hitler's Final Solution. In many ways, her story was similar to many others. "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" comes to mind, but each story is unique and bears telling. In this, the filmmakers wove archival footage with historical still photos and live action recreations of the events in her courageous, but somehow foolhardy, life. The tale it tells is fairly accurate because Hannah was a dedicated diarist who left a detailed record of how she wound up where she did. The tragedy, for me, is that she sacrificed her own young life; but in doing so she caused her mother to come to the attention of the authorities. That selfless action may have resulted in her mother surviving when so many others were shipped off to the death camps. I found this very moving, although it really had nothing new to say, except to remind us that there were many heroes of that period whose stories have yet to be told. I am glad I now know hers.
Walter M

"Blessed Is the Match" is a partially rewarding documentary about the life and times of Hannah Senesh who was raised in Budapest before emigrating to Palestine, like many other Jews in the years before World War II. It is there that she volunteers for a military mission to… More
"Blessed Is the Match" is a partially rewarding documentary about the life and times of Hannah Senesh who was raised in Budapest before emigrating to Palestine, like many other Jews in the years before World War II. It is there that she volunteers for a military mission to parachute behind enemy lines where she died at the age of 22. Even though the objectives of her mission were not achieved, the documentary points out that it was at least successful in giving hope to Hungarian Jews through a growing sense of Jewish nationalism, just as the Holocaust was becoming reality there. It is curious that the most pertinent information comes from background material. At the same time, I don't think we really get to know Hannah, with the emotional highlights coming from the testimony of survivors. Since a lot of the documentary is made up of dramatizations, it stands to reason that a more effective approach in telling the story of her life might have been a feature film.