FRANCE, ITALY

J’accuse An Officer and a Spy

2019 – 35mm – color – 126’

Direction: Roman Polanski

Screenplay: Robert Harris, Roman Polanski from the novel D. by Robert Harris

Cinematography: Pawel Edelman, Psc

Editing: Hervé De Luze

Set design: Jean Rabasse, Adc

Musics: Alexandre Desplat

Costumes: Pascaline Chavanne

Cast: Jean Dujardin (M. G. Picquart), Louis Garrel (A. Dreyfus), Emmanuelle Seigner (Pauline Monnier), Grégory Gadebois (Joseph Henry), Hervé Pierre (Gen. Gonse), Didier Sandre (Gen. Le Mouton De Boisdeffre), Wladimir Yordanoff (Gen. Mercier), Mathieu Amalric (Alphonse Bertillon), Damien Bonnard (Jean-Alfred Desvernine), Eric Ruf (Col. Sandherr), Laurent Stocker (Gen. De Pellieux), Michel Vuillermoz (Col. Du Paty De Clam), Vincent Grass (Gen. Billot), Denis Podalydes (Maître Edgar Demange), Vincent Perez (Louis Leblois), Melvil Poupaud (Maître Fernand Labori), Laurent Natrella (Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy)

Producer: Alain Goldman in coproduction with Luca Barbareschi

Production: Légende (Fr), RP Productions (Fr), Eliseo Cinema (It), Rai Cinema (It)

Italian distribution: 01 Distribution

synopsis

On January 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a promising officer, has been stripped of his rank and sentenced to life in prison on Devil’s Island on charges of espionage on behalf of Germany. Among the witnesses to this humiliation is Georges Picquart, who is promoted to head of the Statistics Section, the same military counterintelligence unit that had mounted the charges against Dreyfus. But when Picquart discovers the nature of the secrets about to be handed over to the Germans, he is drawn into a dangerous spiral of deception and corruption that will not only jeopardize his honor but also his life.

critical note

“(…) One of the pivotal events towards the shaping of western civilization in the 20th century is reimagined here by establishing a lucid dialectic between the historicized styles of cinema “recognized” as the brightest offspring of modernity. Roman Polanski strips his frames of any complacency or self-indulgence by offering us an immense lesson in the ethics of imagery that can encourage any future critical reflection on the too many Dreyfuses of history. A wonderful, contemporary film with absolute clarity: voulez-vous la lumière?” (Pietro Masciullo, sentieriselvaggi.it, 20/11/2019)

main awards

2019 Mostra di Venezia – Competition: Grand Jury Prize, FIPRESCI Award, Green Drop Award, Sorriso Diverso Venezia Award

2020 Hong Kong Jewish FF: Audience Award

2020 César Awards: Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Costumes

2021 Portuguese Film Academy Sophia Awards: Best European Film