By Rachel Galvin
The theme of antisemitism is rife from the very beginning of the film “An Officer and a Spy.” When Jewish Army Captain Alfred Dreyfus (Louis Garrel) undergoes a very public degradation, a court marshal for supposedly passing secrets to Germany in 1895, the disdain is obvious. Many look down on him just for being Jewish. The fact that he evidently is a traitor seems to go hand and hand. Convicted without very little effort, the dejected man is sent away to live a solitary life on Devil’s Island in a penal colony.
But this is not the end of his story. In fact, what would happen next in this true story would turn his tragedy into an action that would change the world.
His former teacher, Officer George Picquart (Jean Dujardin), who was promoted to head military counter-intelligence to take over for a man riddled with syphilis, begins to uncover clues that maybe Dreyfus’ conviction was not so cut and dried. He begins to doubt those around him as he finds more and more evidence that something is not quite right. And along the way, he finds one person after another who seem to tell him he is barking up the wrong tree and should drop the whole thing.
But, he persists … against all odds. A man who has a deep love for the army throws caution to the wind and threatens to lose everything to share the truth and seek justice. The further he goes down the rabbit hole, the deeper he finds the political corruption.
It finally takes the help of the press, Emile Zola and his open letter “J’Accuse,” to bring everything to light and lead to a new trial for the accused. Despite being convicted, Dreyfus would eventually win an appeal and be released and even be reinstated to the army.
The Dreyfus Affair would lead to a cultural divide in France and expose the antisemitism present in the country, as well as the corruption, and would lead Theodor Herzl to write “The Jewish State” in 1896 and convene the first World Zionist Congress a year later. At the congress, he discussed the idea of creating a Zionist state for the Jews. Thus, the plight of Alfred Dreyfus had a direct correlation with the creation of Israel as a haven for Jewish people — a profound piece of history.
Visually beautiful with a musical score to match its growing intensity, this film slowly builds from military bureaucracy to political intrigue. Two men’s lives seem to hang in the balance as the tale unravels. This, combined with the increased hatred toward Jews as the film progresses, leaves the audience feeling both thoroughly engaged and completely spent all at once while awaiting a resolution.
Two powerhouses collaborated to bring this story to life — director Roman Polanski and co-writer Robert Harris, known for “Conclave.” The duo also collaborated on “The Ghost Writer.” Dujardin, who plays the leading role, has already won an Oscar for his work in “The Artist.” The other actors from Garrel to supporting characters who surround them all hold their own. Everything from the performances to the props play a part in the masterful storytelling of this important history.
The film’s screening now is certainly timely. Although Dreyfus had been released from prison, his rank was not returned to where he felt it should be … until recently. On June 3 this year, The French National Assembly finally voted unanimously to promote Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general, 130 years later. Given an uprising lately of antisemitism in the world, this acknowledgement is one step toward reparations in this matter, but also an acknowledgement of the state of the world today. This change of heart makes this film very current and an even more important watch.
The film originally premiered on August 30, 2019 at the 76th Venice International Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize. It also received 12 nominations for the 45th César Awards, the most nominations of any eligible film, and won the awards for Best Adaptation, Best Costume Design, and Best Director.
Now, the movie “Officer and a Spy” (J’Accuse) is showing starting on October 3 at IPIC in Boca Raton and North Miami.