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Photo credit : Le Pacte
Guilty Until Proven Innocent ? A Review of “ Anatomy of a Fall ” and a View of the French Legal System
ROBERT N . JOHNSON Baker Donelson rjohnson @ bakerdonelson . com
“ Anatomy of A Fall ” won this year ’ s Golden Globe for Best Picture in a Foreign Language as well as the award for Best Original Screenplay at the 2024 Oscars . French novelist Gustave Flaubert has been quoted , “ There is no truth . There is only perception .” This could be the motto of Justine Triet ’ s “ Anatomy of A Fall ,” a French film described by a critic as “ hitchcockian .” Set in an idyllic village in the snow-covered French Alps , novelist Sandra ( brilliant performance by Sandra Hueller ) is put on the stand after her husband Samuel ( Samuel Theis ) is found dead outside their chalet by their son Daniel and Snoop , the family dog . Did Sandra push him out the window ? Did he jump ? Or was it just an accident ? A trial is supposed to uncover the truth . And while watching the seemingly bizarre proceedings unfold , it becomes very clear that this movie , in addition to a murder mystery , would offer the fascinating opportunity to deep-dive into the French legal system and compare it to ours . Because the judicial methods of truth-finding , as displayed in the movie , are very particular and different from what we as American lawyers are used to .
Take , for example , the process of re-enactment as part of the pre-trial investigation . A team of investigators ,
20 MAY / JUNE 2024