The unconventional depiction of a criminal trial in this piece has been praised for its exploration of a couple’s dynamic following a fatal incident at an Alpine chalet.
The acclaimed French film, Anatomy of a Fall, is a contender at the Golden Globes this weekend. It has received numerous awards at European film festivals and is part of a larger resurgence of French auteur movies that are reimagining the genre of courtroom dramas.
First, Saint Omer, a haunting masterpiece by the acclaimed film-maker and documentarian Alice Diop, took the top prizes at the Venice film festival for its fictional retelling of the 2016 trial of a Senegalese student accused of infanticide on the northern French coast. Then Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall won the Cannes Palme d’Or. Finally, The Goldman Case, a reconstruction of a 1970s French trial of the leftwing activist Pierre Goldman, became a critical hit.
Attorneys and commentators argue that independent filmmakers are challenging and redefining the conventions of courtroom dramas in order to examine divisions within French culture and prompt discussions on issues of gender, race, bias, as well as parenthood and interpersonal dynamics.
Wilfried Jude, an artistic co-director of Atmosphères 53, expressed that currently in France, individuals are highly interested in matters concerning law and justice. He is involved with the organization of the Festival du Film Judiciaire in Laval, a film festival centered on legal topics that has been gaining popularity. According to Jude, this festival explores the idea of trials, or films about trials, being representative of the state of society.
Since Georges Méliès’s 1899 silent film about the Dreyfus affair, French media has been captivated by stories of courts, investigations, and legal debates. Fictionalized versions of unresolved crimes, acquittals, and accusations of wrongful convictions have been created, such as the child abuse scandal and ensuing legal disaster in Outreau, the unsolved murder of “little Grégory” in the 1980s, and the case of Omar Raddad, a Moroccan gardener accused of killing a wealthy socialite on the Côte d’Azur in 1991.
The latest collection of independent films is viewed as challenging the traditional courtroom genre by utilizing varying perspectives and leaving ambiguous and unresolved issues.
Triet’s film, Anatomy of a Fall, depicts a tumultuous relationship and its ultimate downfall. The courtroom scenes are depicted in a unique manner, using breaks, flashbacks, and without a clear perspective. In an interview with Huffington Post France, Triet explained her interest in the judicial system as a means of making sense of the chaos in our lives.
The novel “Saint Omer” by Diop uses actual court records to create a fictionalized retelling of a trial involving a student who left her 15-month-old child alone on a beach near Calais during high tide while the child was asleep. Set in the town where the trial occurred, the story explores the dynamics of motherhood and how it is perceived by both genders. The audience is encouraged to reflect on their own perspectives.
Diop shared with La Voix du Nord that the beauty in a trial lies in hearing the accused individual. This allows for an understanding of the intricacies of human behavior and moves beyond solely focusing on making a judgement.
Cédric Kahn made a decision to create a movie about the trial of Pierre Goldman, a left-wing activist and revolutionary who was accused of killing two pharmacists during a robbery in Paris in 1969. Initially, the director was unsure if contemporary viewers would be interested. However, the film, which primarily takes place in a courtroom, was a success among critics in 2023.
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The movie centers around the concept of justice, paying tribute to its complexities and challenges, according to Kahn’s statement to Cin’Ecrans. It also serves as a tribute to the legal profession.
The lead character of the movie, Anatomy of a Fall, is based on renowned lawyer Georges Kiejman and is portrayed by Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the script with his partner Triet.
According to Michèle Bauer, a lawyer from Bordeaux, the films exhibit a captivation with legal proceedings. What piques people’s curiosity are the narratives: is this individual truly innocent?
According to Bauer, the intense courtroom setting in Anatomy of a Fall accurately portrays the accused’s struggle on the witness stand. The overwhelming and isolated state of the accused is reflective of the reality of being a defendant in a murder trial, where one is subjected to intense scrutiny and faced with many challenges.
According to Nicolas Thevenin, a film expert and the director of Répliques magazine, the recent successful independent films have been unique in their writing and filming techniques. He emphasized that these filmmakers utilized courtroom settings to address relevant societal topics, such as motherhood, race, gender roles, and antisemitism.
“I have noticed a significant amount of tension in France in recent years, with conflicting opinions and societal divisions related to religion, gender, and politics,” he stated. “The courtroom setting presents an opportunity to address these conflicts and engage with diverse perspectives.”
Source: theguardian.com
