J'Accuse
In his latest film controversial director Roman Polanski sheds light on the notorious Dreyfus affair. Winner of jury prize at Venice Film Festival.
French captain Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted at the end of the 19th century. When newly appointed Colonel Picquart discovers that the evidence has been forged, he risks everything to expose the real culprits and restore the name of Alfred Dreyfus.
The Dreyfus affair - a combination of legal errors, miscarriages of justice and antisemitism - has torn France apart for twelve years and is probably the biggest political scandal of the late 19th century. Ironically, the Polish-French director of J'ACCUSE has also become a highly controversial subject in past decades. As early as 1977, he was convicted of rape of an underage girl, and since then more women have emerged claiming to have been abused by Polanski as a teenager. Does the theme of J'ACCUSE serve to portray himself as an innocent victim and clear his own name?