Extract
[...] Lawyer, a complex profession In The Goldman Trial the profession of a penal lawyer is almost a priesthood. The film plunges us into the behind-the-scenes of the profession, what happens during a suspension of the hearing, where the spectator attends a session of 're-framing' between Goldman, uncontrollable, and Kiejman (the client's behavior can indeed harm the defense and himself) or the choices made during the preparation of the pleadings. In the film, the lawyer exercises both a strategic profession (it is a matter of outwitting the opposing plans, anticipating the blows, preparing for the unexpected, surprising in turn . [...]
[...] The performances are convincing, the reconstitutions well-woven. Thanks to this careful realization, Cédric Kahn has managed to do justice to the world of justice and its actors, while we live in a social context where many are tempted to prioritize expeditious justice over the presumption of innocence. Here, the viewer puts themselves in the place of the juror and must rely solely on their own judgment, based on the facts, testimonies, and the personality of Pierre Goldman to establish their verdict. [...]
[...] Trial or political platform, this film does not only speak of justice, but of class contempt, a justice dominated by the masculine, descendants of the Holocaust, racism against Blacks, partiality and shortcomings in police methods . Problems of the time that are still those of today. The subject of Cédric Kahn's film could be a redundant one. However, the style, sobriety, and tone make it a remarkable and original film, blending the intrigues of a trial with the history of an era. [...]
[...] And, in the case of Pierre Goldman, the doubt benefits the accused. This is the entire difficulty of a criminal trial that emerges: lacking tangible and sufficient material evidence, how to welcome the testimony of the witness? What place to give it? What hierarchy should be established between subjective elements and legal facts or evidence? Doubt is omnipresent throughout the film and, for the jurors as for the spectator, there remains only the intimate conviction as stated in Article 353 of the Penal Procedure Code. [...]
[...] The Goldman Trial - Cédric Kahn (2023) The Goldman Trial The Goldman Trial is a 2023 French film directed by Cédric Kahn. Shot in the style of a closed-door setting, the film is a mix of fiction and reality. It retraces the course of Pierre Goldman's second trial, a far-left militant accused of committing four armed robberies in Paris between 1969 and 1970, including the last one that resulted in the death of two pharmacists, for which Pierre Goldman has always claimed his innocence. [...]
