Roth Reviews “The Patagonian Hare”

Lauren RubensteinMay 2, 20121min
Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth reviews a new memoir by renowned filmmaker Claude Lanzmann

Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth published a review of Claude Lanzmann’s new autobiography, “The Patagonian Hare: Memoir” in The Washington Post. He writes: “Successful memoirs usually require more than the usual amount of self-absorption, and sometimes an annoying, even comical dose of narcissism. ‘The Patagonian Hare‘ is full of Lanzmann’s cloying self-regard, but we accept it for the single reason that he created ‘Shoah,’ his 1985 documentary about the Nazi war against the Jews, one of the masterworks of cinema. A man who produces a great work of art that succeeds in deeply affecting our consciousness of the past and of the human condition deserves to be listened to. And so we listen to Lanzmann.”