First of all, I usually grade my stars based on the proposed story, its development, consistency, final outcomes and potential future relevance. I rarely focus on actors, directors, editors and so on; even with poor resources, sensible and memorable deliveries can be achieved.
In this case, it is inevitable to compare this French film with (see my comments in each case) The Twelve series (De twaalf, 2019, Denmark) and The Verdict (Ihr Urteil, 2016, Germany). Because, if true, they make up a trilogy about the oddities of the European legal system, at least in these three countries.
The Verdict involves the development of an unnecessary trial with an absolutely procastinated ending, while The Twelve and Anatomy of a Fall describe trials based on mere presumption, without evidence other than a sum of extravagant hypotheses and the constant sowing of doubts 'just in case'.
In all three cases, the accused are subject to permanent scrutiny by multiple judges, prosecutors and lawyers; they cannot remain silent without creating doubts and, by answering, they also risk their credibility. In other words, instead of proper trials, they look more like statements during a preliminary investigation at the police station. It is not about the State proving without a doubt that the accused are guilty, but rather that they must convince everyone of their innocence, like walking barefoot over all the burning embers placed in their path.
A kind of process for the entertainment of both the King and the Church at the expense of quasi-defenseless citizens.
The Verdict is, in my opinion, the worst example, because the accused buries himself by saying major nonsense that no halfway competent defense lawyer could have allowed him to testify, while the ultimate and highest-ranking perpetrators are freed from any accusation.
The Twelve ends with an absurd guilty sentence, mitigated by showing us that it would actually be the right thing to do (but only if the prosecutors had done their job well). Its value, if it had been intended that way, consists in calling into question the benefits of trial by juries (humans with a relative level of sapiens).
Anatomy of a Fall has at least two virtues: 1) the accused is declared innocent, regardless of whether doubts may remain - although, remember, the trial never made sense -, and 2) a brave blind child clearly explains to judges, prosecutors, attorneys, audience and reporters (aka the Emperor, court and all kingdom) the banality of this kind of processes, which only seem to occur by virtue of their potential media interest based on gossips and intimacies that can thus be obtained as a by-product. If this constituted the climax of the plot, I could assert that the plot's message was to alert us about a reckless justice system; but the last ten minutes (where nothing happens) make it implausible. Somehow, it is similar to The Twelve, as if once again criticizes the competence of the prosecutors but without - and fortunately - confirming it.
For all that I give it one more star. But it is disappointing, again, and increasingly typical for an award-winning film. I hope films' juries being not appointed for criminal trials. Or movies production is the one in the fall.
In this case, it is inevitable to compare this French film with (see my comments in each case) The Twelve series (De twaalf, 2019, Denmark) and The Verdict (Ihr Urteil, 2016, Germany). Because, if true, they make up a trilogy about the oddities of the European legal system, at least in these three countries.
The Verdict involves the development of an unnecessary trial with an absolutely procastinated ending, while The Twelve and Anatomy of a Fall describe trials based on mere presumption, without evidence other than a sum of extravagant hypotheses and the constant sowing of doubts 'just in case'.
In all three cases, the accused are subject to permanent scrutiny by multiple judges, prosecutors and lawyers; they cannot remain silent without creating doubts and, by answering, they also risk their credibility. In other words, instead of proper trials, they look more like statements during a preliminary investigation at the police station. It is not about the State proving without a doubt that the accused are guilty, but rather that they must convince everyone of their innocence, like walking barefoot over all the burning embers placed in their path.
A kind of process for the entertainment of both the King and the Church at the expense of quasi-defenseless citizens.
The Verdict is, in my opinion, the worst example, because the accused buries himself by saying major nonsense that no halfway competent defense lawyer could have allowed him to testify, while the ultimate and highest-ranking perpetrators are freed from any accusation.
The Twelve ends with an absurd guilty sentence, mitigated by showing us that it would actually be the right thing to do (but only if the prosecutors had done their job well). Its value, if it had been intended that way, consists in calling into question the benefits of trial by juries (humans with a relative level of sapiens).
Anatomy of a Fall has at least two virtues: 1) the accused is declared innocent, regardless of whether doubts may remain - although, remember, the trial never made sense -, and 2) a brave blind child clearly explains to judges, prosecutors, attorneys, audience and reporters (aka the Emperor, court and all kingdom) the banality of this kind of processes, which only seem to occur by virtue of their potential media interest based on gossips and intimacies that can thus be obtained as a by-product. If this constituted the climax of the plot, I could assert that the plot's message was to alert us about a reckless justice system; but the last ten minutes (where nothing happens) make it implausible. Somehow, it is similar to The Twelve, as if once again criticizes the competence of the prosecutors but without - and fortunately - confirming it.
For all that I give it one more star. But it is disappointing, again, and increasingly typical for an award-winning film. I hope films' juries being not appointed for criminal trials. Or movies production is the one in the fall.
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