Blessed Is the Match tells the story of Hannah Senesh, a Hungarian Jew who moved to Palestine prior to World War II and became a resistance fighter. She joined a mission to rescue other Jews in Hungary, the only such military rescue attempted. This documentary uses archival footage, personal photos, letters and diary entries from a wide range of people involved, and interviews with survivors and talking heads but mainly relied on Hannah’s own poems and diary and writings of her mother. Blessed Is the Match is as much the story of her mother who witnessed much of Hannah’s ordeal as it is Hannah’s.

Given the number of World War II and Holocaust movies available, Blessed Is the Match is notable for it’s unique topic. The film is just shy of 90 minutes, and this tight running time enhances the excitement of the story. After a brief history of Hannah’s early life, Blessed Is the Match gains momentum at about the 20 minute mark and remains intense the rest of the way.

The film mixes in some dramatizations which, at times, are a little cloying, but that is a minor complaint in an otherwise fascinating documentary.