Review by
Benjamin Poole
Directed by: Cédric Kahn
Starring: Arieh Worthalter, Arthur Harari, Stéphan Guérin-Tillié, Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, Nicolas
Briançon, Aurélien Chaussade
You have to hand it to the French; they certainly know how to mint a
cultural icon. Take Pierre Goldman, intellectual and left-wing firebrand
(an archetype characteristic of the country's confrere), and the subject
of Cédric Kahn's (script duties shared with
Nathalie Hertzberg) intense docudrama
The Goldman Case. A self-styled "Jewish Warrior," Goldman was born in France to Polish
parents (never cross Polish blood, by the way; we're the stubbornest in
Europe), and perhaps the die was cast from the off, with le bébé Goldman
kidnapped by his dad (!) to remain in France due to the way Jews had
been treated in the homeland (a shameful aspect of Polish history which
is often brushed aside). Goldman was bright but a natural troublemaker.
Expelled from several educational institutions, he gave mandatory
military service le bras d'honneur and instead absconded to Cuba before
spending a year in Venezuela for guerrilla training. Eventually a fully
fledged communist, Goldman took to turning over banks and small
businesses to fund revolutionary activity. He also considered kidnapping
writer Jean-Edern Hallier because he "profoundly disliked" him: extra.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité are the principles which contemporary
France is built upon, a creed that people died and are still prepared to
die for. Language, politics, society (cinema, comics, food et al): to
the French, things *matter*. And
The Goldman Case accordingly starts with the irascible and
deeply charismatic Goldman (Arieh Worthalter) coating off his
brief, the man who stands between him and a potential death penalty, via
letter ("I can’t stand the guy... I assert my liberty"). It is a
characteristically equitable introduction for this mercurial figure up
against the beak for the death of two people in a robbery, and who will
(SPOILER), ultimately go down due to his ethical protection of a
witness.
I say SPOILER but the film is predicated upon familiarity with the
events depicted; the legendary figure himself and the outcome of the
case, domestically referred to as "the trial of the century," and which
is carefully recreated here via deep research by the filmmakers (no easy
task, as French courts do not release transcripts and photos are not
allowed in session). The Goldman Case takes us through the
trial; the prosecution, the defence; the cross examination of witness to
witness. Shot almost entirely within the courtroom, the drama is
strictly focussed within academy ratio, with the ups and down of the
eventful trial as much, of course, about the state of the nation as it
is the shootings.
At the opening of the trial, Goldman protests that he doesn't require
positive character witnesses, emphasising that the facts of the matter
alone should exonerate him. Nonetheless, the ensuing tribunal is an
audit of the revolutionary's life, and the film duly proposes that
antisemitism was the true motivator of the trial, with the crime a fix
up. Tensions run high, and at points the scene descends into anarchy,
with people being restrained and an incensed crowd mocking the judge
with Hitler salutes. As stated, things matter to the French: even the
tenor of the language, with its distinctive bell-like vowels of Romantic
elision, facilitates passionate debate. French people arguing always
sounds so profound anyway, and the rapid interchanges of
The Goldman Case electrify the film.
The synergy between the structured processes of the courtroom and
narrative film is manifest: both adhere to three acts wherein conflict
works towards eventual resolution, and mutually feature a cast of
characters performing a prearranged script to a captive audience
(congruously, a key twist in the film involves an actor "playing" the
accused). You can't beat a courtroom drama, especially one as
accomplished and well executed as The Goldman Case. At times, however, the film implements such fealty to events and its
eminent subject that the presentation leans towards an objective
reconstruction, an episodic retelling of foregone events via a remove
that is not necessarily emotionally involving. Nonetheless,
The Goldman Case stands as a testament to Goldman, and the
enduring esprit de corps of the French left.
The Goldman Case is in UK/ROI
cinemas from September 20th.
