She analyzed oppression and the structure of political oppression. In an essay entitled “The Analysis of Oppression” she asks “why the oppressed in revolt have never succeeded in founding a non-oppressive society, whether on the basis of the productive forces of their time, or even at the cost of an economic regression which could hardly increase their misery; and lastly he, (Marx) leaves completely in the dark the general principles of the mechanism by which a given form of oppression is replaced by another” (Weil, An Anthology, 1986, p. 130).
That concept of lateral oppression is one of the most difficult ones to understand. She advocated radical solidarity and according to the documentary, Camus meditated in her room before accepting the Nobel prize. Her philosophy also led her to adopting a quasi-anarchical political ideology. Nonetheless, she was compelled by a deep and abiding spirituality. She famously wrote in Waiting for God that "today it is not nearly enough merely to be a saint; but we must have the saintliness demanded by the present moment, a new saintliness".
Her reflections on the value of focussed attention is most worthwhile and the documentary begins with a quote of hers on the theme of attention which is a subject she gave a lot of philosophical reflection to. "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity".