An Encounter with Simone Weil

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." These words, written by Simone Weil, French philosopher, activist, and mystic, provide the engrossing entry point to An Encounter with Simone Weil, Julia Haslett's exploration of moral responsibility against the backdrop of 21st- century America. Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus described Weil as "the only great spirit of our time." She was a tireless advocate for the poor and unemployed. Haslett's own struggles with suffering––her father committed suicide and her brother battles severe depression––are interwoven with Weil's dramatic life story, to create a deeply moving film about living life with compassion.